
THE LIBRARY 

OF 

THE UNIVERSITY 

OF CALIFORNIA 

LOS ANGELES 



Th:< 



ni'p 



SHAKESPEARE'S 



TRAGEDY OF 



TITUS ANDRONICUS 



EDITED, WITH NOTES 
BY 

WILLIAM J. ROLFE, Litt.D. 

FORMERLY HEAD MASTER OF THE HIGH SCHOOL 
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 



ILLUSTRATED 

28638 

NEW YORK •:• CINCINNATI •:• CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 



Copyright, 1883 and iS,j8, by 
HARPER & BROTHERS. 

Copyright, 1906, p,y 
WILLIAM J. ROLFE. 

TITUS ANDRONICUS. 
\Y. P. . 



PREFACE 

It is barely possible that Titus Andronicus was a 
very early work of Shakespeare, but personally I be- 
lieve, with the great majority of editors and critics, 
that it was an old anonymous play which he slightly 
rf retouched in the 'prentice period of his career. I 
' I nevertheless allow the advocates of its authenticity their 
,N full say in its behalf (in the Introduction), and leave 
* readers and students to decide for themselves, if they 
can, how much of it is Shakespeare's. 



i 



CONTENTS 



Introduction to Titus Andronicus 
The History of the Play . 
The Sources of the Plot . 
General Comments on the Plav 



Titus Andromcu 
Act I 
Act II 
Act III 
Act IV 
Act V 



Notes . 

Appendix: 

The Time-Analysis of the Play 
List of Characters in the Play 



PAGE 

9 

9 

J 5 

16 



54 

77 

93 

n6 

143 



201 
201 



Index of Words and Phrases Explained 




^Wliii^i. 






Pontine Marshes 




INTRODUCTION 

TO 

TITUS ANDRONICUS 



The History of the Play 

Until 1904 the earliest known edition of Titus A11- 
dronicus was a quarto published in 1600, with the fol- 
lowing title-page (as given in the Cambridge ed.) : — 

The most lamenta- | ble Romaine Tragedie of Titus 
Andronicus. | As it hath sundry times beene playde by 
the I Right Honourable the Earle of Pembrooke, the | 
Earle of Darbie, the Earle of Sussex, and the [ Lorde 
Chamberlaine theyr | Seruants. | At London, | Printed 
by I. R. for Edward White | and are to bee solde at his 

9 



io Titus Andronicus 

shoppe, at the little | North doore of Paules, at the signe 
of | the Gun. 1600. 

Langbaine in his Account of the English Drama tick 
Poets, p. 464 (ed. 1691) says of Titus Andronicus, " This 
play was first printed 40. Lond. 1594, and acted by the 
Earls of Derby, Pembroke, and Essex, their Servants." 
Whether or not this is the same as " titus and ondroni- 
cus " mentioned in Elenslowe's Diary (p. 33, ed. Collier) 
as acted for the first time on the 23d of January, 1593, it 
is impossible to say. The very existence of this quarto 
of 1594 was doubted by many critics until a copy of it 
was discovered in Sweden in the latter part of 1904. 
It is probable that this was the edition of which the 
following entry appears in the Stationers' Registers : — 

6 February, 1593. 
John Danter. Entered fur his copye under handes of bothe the 
wardens a booke intituled, A Noble Roman-His- 
torye of Tytus Andronicus. yj d . 

Another quarto was published in 161 1, the title-page 
of which reads thus : — 

The I mostlamen- | table Tragedie | of Titus Androni- 
cus. [ As it hath sundry | times beene plaide by the Kings \ 
Maiesties Seruants. | London, | Printed for Eedward 
White, and are to be solde | at his shoppe, nere the little 
North dore of | Pauls, at the signe of the | Gun. 161 1. 

This edition was printed from that of 1600, from 
which it varies only by some printer's errors and a few 
conjectural alterations. 

The folio text was printed from a copy of the quarto 



Introduction II 

of 161 1, which perhaps was in the library of the theatre, 
and had some MS. alterations and additions made to 
the stage-directions. Here, as elsewhere, the printer of 
the folio has been very careless as to metre. It is 
remarkable that the folio contains a whole scene (iii. 2) 
not found in the quartos, but agreeing too closely in 
style with the main portion of the play to allow of the 
supposition that it is due to a different author. The 
scene may have been supplied to the players' copy of 
the 2d quarto from a manuscript in their possession. 

Halliwell-Phillipps {Outlines of the Life of S., 2d ed., 
p. 72) assumes that Henslowe's play is the one ascribed 
to Shakespeare. He says : " In the winter-season of 
1593-4, Shakespeare's earliest tragedy, which was 
unfortunately based on a repulsive tale, was brought 
out by the Earl of Sussex's actors, who were then per- 
forming, after a tour in the provinces, at one of the 
Surrey theatres. They were either hired by, or playing 
under some financial arrangement with, Henslowe, who, 
after the representation of a number of revivals, ventured 
upon the production of a drama on the story of Titus 
Andronicus, the only new play introduced during the 
season. This tragedy, having been successfully pro- 
duced 1 before a large audience on January the 23d, 1594, 
was shortly afterwards entered on the books of the 

1 This appears from the earlier issue of 1594, recorded by Langbaine 
[see above] as " acted by the Earls of Derby, Pembroke, and Essex, 
their servants.' 1 That Langbaine wrote Essex by error for Sussex is 
evident from the title-page of the edition of 1600 and from the half-title 
on the first page of that of 161 1. 



12 Titus Andronicus 

Stationers' Company and published by Danter. It was 
also performed, almost if not quite simultaneously, by 
the servants of the Earls of Derby and Pembroke. 

That the play was popular may be inferred from the 
number of representations, its timely publication, and 
from several early notices. Ben Jonson, writing in 1614, 
refers thus to its popularity : " hee that will sweare 
Jeronimo or Andronicus are the best playes, yet shall 
passe unexcepted at heere as a man whose judgement 
shewes it is constant and hath stood still these five and 
twentie or thirty yeeres " (Ind. to Bartholomew Fair). 
Jonson hardly means here to convey the idea of a pre- 
cise date, but merely that both the dramas to which 
he alludes were then very old plays. In an inven- 
tory of the theatrical costumes at the Rose Theatre 
in March, 1598-9, mention is made of "the More's 
lymes," which Malone suspects "were the limbs of 
Aaron the Moor in Titus Andronicus" who in the origi- 
nal play was probably tortured on the stage. 

Ravenscroft, in the preface to his alteration of the 
play (1687), says : " I have been told by some anciently 
conversant with the stage, that it was not originally his 
[Shakespeare's], but brought by a private author to be 
acted, and he only gave some master-touches to one 
or two of the principal characters." Capell, Collier, 
Knight, and many of the Germans, believe that the 
play is Shakespeare's ; but the majority of the English 
editors reject it entirely. The rest think that it was 
only touched up by the dramatist, and they are prob- 



Introduction 13 

ably right. It is difficult to believe that he had 
any larger share in its composition than Ravenscroft 
allowed him. It may at first seem strange that his 
name should have come to be associated with a work 
in which we find so few traces of his hand ; but he may 
have improved the old play in other ways than by re- 
writing any considerable portion of it, — by omissions, 
rearrangement of scenes, and the like — and its popu- 
larity in the revised form may have led to its being 
commonly known as " Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus " 
(to distinguish it from the original version, whoseso- 
ever it may have been), until at length it got to be 
generally regarded as one of his own productions. 

If Shakespeare wrote the play, it must have been 
at the very beginning of his career as an author — 
" 1589, or earlier," as Dowden suggests, when he was 
" a young man carried away by the influence of a Sturm 
unci Drang (storm and stress) movement similar to that 
which urged Schiller to write his Robbers. Titus An- 
dronicus belongs essentially to the pre-Shaksperian 
group of bloody tragedies, of which Kyd's Spanish 
Tragedy is the most conspicuous example. If it is of 
Shaksperian authorship, it may be viewed as repre- 
senting the years of crude and violent youth before he 
had found his true self." 

Stokes (Chron. Order of Shakespeare 's Plays, p. 3) 
says : " That Shakespeare had some connection with 
a play upon the subject seems to be placed beyond 
doubt by the mention of Meres, and by the insertion 



14 Titus Andronicus 

in the ist folio; but if the play as given in that edi- 
tion be the one which is connected with our poet's 
name — as indeed seems probable from a considera- 
tion of several passages in it (see Mr. H. B. Wheatley, 
New. Shaks. Soc. Trans., 1S74, pp. 1 26-1 29) l — then 
the classical allusions, the peculiar words, etc., compel 
us to adopt Ravenscroft's tradition that it is only an 
old play revised by Shakespeare. In what year this 
revision took place it is very difficult to say; of course, 
it must have been before 1598, when Meres mentions 
it, and therefore before the Pembroke and other com- 
panies were merged into the Lord Chamberlain's com- 
pany, at which time Mr. Fleay thinks several old plays 
{Titus Andronicus being one) passed into the hands of 
the corps to which Shakespeare belonged. The adap- 
tation was probably early in his dramatic career, though 
Jonson's reference in the Induction to Bartholomew 
Fair must surely be to the old play." 

Furnivall (" Leopold "' ed. p. xxii.) says : " To me, 
as to Hallam and many others, the play declares as 
plainly as play can speak. ' I am not Shakspere's : my 
repulsive subject, my blood and horrors, are not, and 

1 The bits which Mr. Wheatley assigns to Shakespeare are the fol- 
lowing: i. 1.9 ("Romans, friends, followers," etc., echoed by Mark 
Antony in/. C. iii. 2. 75), ii. 1.82, 83 ("She is a woman," etc., like 
Rich. III. i. 2. 228, 229 and i Hen. VI. v. 3. 78, 79), i. 1. 70-76, 117-119 
(cf. M. of /'. iv. 1. 183 fol), i. 1. 141, ii. 2. 1-6, ii. 3. 10-15, iii. 1. 82- 
86, 91-97, iv. 4. 81-86, v. 2. 21-27, an( l v - 3- 160-168. These may well 
be Sh ik pe ar 's, and possibly other passages that rise above the gen- 
eral level of the play. 



Introduction 15 

never were, his.' I accept the tradition that Ravens- 
croft reports when he revived and altered the play in 
1687, that it was brought to Shakspere to be touched 
up and prepared for the stage." 

The verdict of the editors and critics is so nearly 
unanimous against the authenticity of the play that the 
burden of proof clearly rests with the other side ; and 
as I am willing to allow them the fullest and best presen- 
tation of their case that has yet been made, I give below 
the arguments of Verplanck almost without abridgment. 

The date of the play in its present form must be 
earlier than 1594. If it was an old play retouched by 
Shakespeare, his work upon it may have been done in 
1592 or 1593. If it was entirely his own, we must sup- 
pose it to have been written several years earlier — cer- 
tainly before Love's Labour 's Lost, the first original play 
which is generally ascribed to him. and which could not 
have been later than 159 1 , while some good critics date 
it in 1588 or 1589. 

The Sources of the Plot 

Theobald says : " The story we are to suppose merely 
fictitious. Andronicus is a surname of pure Greek deri- 
vation. Tamora is neither mentioned by Ammianus 
Marcellinus, nor anybody else that I can find. Xor 
had Rome, in the time of her emperors, any war with 
the Goths that I know of ; not till after the translation 
of the empire — I mean to Byzantium. And yet the 



t8 Titus Andronicus 

editors v. ore Heminge and Ccndoll, long the managers 
of a theatrical company which had represented this very 
play, and to whom its author could not well have been 
unknown ; who were, moreover, for years Shakespeare's 
associates in ihcotrical concerns, and his personal 
friends, and who, in cohntxt-on with the great original 
actor of Othello and Richard, Mu.nht and Lear, are 
remembered by the poet in his will, by a bequest ' to 
my fellows John Hemynge, Richard Burbage, and 
Henry Cundell, to buy them rings.' 

" These editors had besides given no slight proof of 
their care and fidelity on this point, by rejecting at least 
fourteen other plays ascribed by rumour, or by the 
unauthorized use of his name, to Shakespeare, and a 
part of which were afterwards added to their collection 
by the less scrupulous publishers of the folios of 1664 
and of 1685. 

" Titus Andronicus is moreover unhesitatingly as- 
cribed to Shakespeare by his contemporary Francis 
Meres, in the ' Comparative discourse of our English 
Poets, with the Greek, Latine, and Italian Poets,' con- 
tained in his Palladis Tamia, 1598. The list of Shake- 
speare's works there given by Meres has always been 
regarded as the best authority for the chronology of all 
the great poet's works mentioned in it, and it contains 
the title of no other piece that ever has been questioned 
as of doubtful authenticity. Meres is said by Schlegel 
to have been personally acquainted with the poet, and 
' so very intimately, that the latter read to him his 



Introduction 19 

sonnets before they were printed.' I do not know on 
what authority he states this fact so strongly ; yet it is 
remarkable that, in 1598, eleven years before Shake- 
speare's sonnets were printed, Meres had said ' the 
sweete wittie soul of Ovid lives in mellifluous and 
honey-tongued Shakespeare ; witness his Venus arid 
Adonis, his Lucrece, his sugred sonnets among his 
private friends.' It is besides certain, on other author- 
ity, that Meres, at the date of his publication, was 
intimately connected with Drayton, and he was very 
familiar with the literature and literary affairs of his day. 

" Now all this chain of positive evidence applies, 
not merely to an obscure play unknown in its day, but 
to a piece which, with all its faults, suited the taste of 
the times, was several times reprinted, and was often 
acted, and that by different theatrical companies, one 
of which was that with which Shakespeare was him- 
self connected. It would be without example that the 
author of such a piece should have been content for 
years to have seen his work ascribed to another. 

" Indeed, we find no trace of doubt on the subject 
until 1687, nearly a century after the first edition, when 
Ravenscroft, who altered Titus Andronicus to make it 
apply to a temporary political purpose, asserted that he 
had ' been told by some anciently conversant with the 
stage, that it was not originally his, but brought by a 
private author to be acted, and he only gave some 
master-touches to one or two of the principal charac- 
ters.' But Ravenscroft's tradition comes in a most 



20 Titus Andronicus 

suspicious shape, as he had some years before spoken 
of the piece as unquestionably and entirely Shakes- 
peare's. 

" Thus it would really seem on the first view of the 
question, that it would be as extravagant an opinion to 
deny this play to be Shakespeare's as it would be to 
reject the joint testimony of the editor of Sheridan's 
works, of his fellow managers in Covent Garden, and 
of contemporary critics to the authenticity of any of 
his dramas, on account of its alleged or real inferiority 
to the other productions of that brilliant and irregular 
mind. 

" But all this external and collateral proof of authen- 
ticity is thrown aside by a host of critics, and this with- 
out any plausible attempt to explain how the error arose, 
and why it prevailed so generally and so long. Their 
argument rests almost entirely upon the manifest infe- 
riority of this play of accumulated physical horrors to 
its alleged author's other tragedies, and its difference 
from their style and versification, so great as to be 
judged incompatible with their proceeding from the 
same author. Thus Johnson observes . ' All the editors 
and critics agree in supposing this play spurious. I see 
no reason for differing from them ; for the colour of the 
style is wholly different from that of the other plays, and 
there is an attempt at regular versification, and artificial 
closes, not always inelegant, yet seldom pleasing. The 
barbarity of the spectacles, and the general massacre 
which are here exhibited, can scarcely be conceived 



Introduction 21 

tolerable to any audience, yet we are told by Jonson 
that they were not only borne but praised. That 
Shakespeare wrote any part, though Theobald declares 
it incontestable, I see no reason for believing.' 

" Mr. Hallam, a still higher authority in taste and in 
knowledge of the elder English literature, pronounces, 
with a dogmatism quite unusual in his candid and 
guarded, as well as sure-sighted criticism, that ' Titus 
Andronicus is now by common consent denied to be, 
in any sense, a production of Shakespeare's ; very few 
passages, I should think not one, resemble his manner.' 
He allows, indeed, the credit due to Meres's ordinary 
accuracy in his enumeration, but adds : ' In criticism 
of all kinds, we must acquire a dogged habit of resist- 
ing testimony when res ipsa vociferatur to the contrary.' 

" To these critics of the nobler class may be added 
the names of Malone, Steevens, Boswell, Seymour, and 
a host of others, including, I believe, all the commen- 
tating editors, except Capell, until within the last ten 
years. Some few of them, as Theobald and Perry, 
qualify this rejection by supposing that Shakespeare 
had added ' a few fine touches ' to the work of an 
inferior hand. 

" For myself, T cannot but think that Mr. Hallam's 
rejection of all external testimony on such a point, as 
being incompetent to oppose the internal indications of 
taste, talent, and style, is in itself unphilosophical, and 
in contradiction to the experience of literary history. 
There may be such an internal evidence showing that 



11 Titus Andronicus 

a work could not have been written in a particular age 
or language. This may be too strong to be shaken by 
other proof. The evidence of differing taste, talent, or 
style, is quite another matter. On the ground taken by 
Mr. Hallam, Walter Scott's last novel, showing no want 
of learning and of labor, would be ejected from his 
works on account of its fatal inferiority to all his other 
prose and verse, had his biographers chosen, from any 
reasons of delicacy, to veil from us the melancholy 
cause of its inferiority, in the broken spirits and flag- 
ging intellect of its admirable author. 

" We might numerate several of Dryden's works which 
would hardly stand this test of authenticity ; but it will 
be enough to mention his deplorable and detestable 
tragedy of Amboyna, written in the meridian of his 
faculties, yet as bloody and revolting as Andronicus, 
and far more gross, and ^this without any redeeming 
touch of genius or feeling. 

" More especially is this rule to be sparingly applied 
to the juvenile efforts of men of genius. We know from 
a sneer of Ben Jonson's at the critics who ' will swear 
that Jeronymo or Andronicus are the best plays yet,' 
that these plays had been popular for twenty-five or 
thirty years in 1614, which throws the authorship of 
Andronicus back to the time when Shakespeare was 
scarcely more than one-and-twenty, if he was not still a 
minor. We have had in our own times the ' /fours of 
Idleness, by George Gordon, Lord Byron, a minor.' 
published in the noble poet's twentieth year. Lord 



Introduction 23 

Byron's education and precocious acquaintance with 
the world had given him far greater advantages for 
early literary exploits than Shakespeare' could have 
possibly enjoyed ; yet it is no exaggeration of the 
merits of Andronicus to say that, with all its defects, it 
approximates more to its author's after excellence than 
the commonplace mediocrity of Byron's juvenile efforts 
to any of the works by which his subsequent fame was 
won. Swift's poor Pindaric Odes, written after he had 
attained manhood, might be denied to be his, for the 
same or similar reasons, as differing in every respect, 
of degree and kind, from the talent and taste he after- 
wards exhibited — as too extravagant and absurd to have 
been written by the author of the transparent prose, 
strong sense, and sarcastic wit of Gulliver ; and equally 
incompatible with the mind of the inventor of that 
agreeable variety of English verse, in its lightest, easi- 
est, simplest dress, 

' which he was born to introduce, 
Refined it first, and showed its use.' 

" Critics have vied with one another in loading this 
play with epithets of contempt ; and indeed, as com- 
pared with the higher products of dramatic poetry, it has 
little to recommend it. But in itself, and for its times, 
it was very far from giving the indication of an unpoeti- 
cal or undramatic mind. One proof of this is, that it 
was long a popular favourite on the stage. It is full of 
defects, but these are precisely such as a youthful 



24 Titus Andronicus 

aspirant, in an age of authorship, would be most likely 
to exhibit — such as the subjection to the taste of the 
clay, good or bad, and the absence of that dramatic 
truth and reality which some experience of human 
passion, and observation of life and manners, can 
alone give the power to produce. 

" This tragedy of coarse horror was in the fashion and 
taste of the times, and accordingly stands in the same 
relation to the other popular dramas of the age that the 
juvenile attempts of Swift and Byron do to the poetry 
of their day which had excited their ambition. But it 
differs from their early writings in this, that while they 
fall very much below their models, this tragedy is at 
least equal to the once admired tragedies of Beele and 
Kyd, and if inferior in degree of power, yet not of an 
inferior class to the scenes of Marlowe and Greene, 
the models of dramatic art and genius of their times. 
Theatrical audiences had not yet been taught to be 
thrilled ' with grateful terror ' without the presence of 
physical suffering ; and the author of Andronicus made 
them, m Macbetlrs phrase, 'sup full with horrors.' 
He gave them stage effect and interest such as they 
liked, stately declamation, with some passages of truer 
feeling, and others of pleasing imagery. It is not in 
human nature that a boy author should be able to de- 
velop and portray the emotions and passions of Lear or 
of Iago. It was much that he could raise them dimly 
before ' his mind's eye,' and give some imperfect outline 
and foreshadowing of them in Aaron and Andronicus. 



Introduction 25 

He who could do all this in youth and inexperience, 
might, when he had found his own strength, do much 
more. The boy author of Titus Andronicus might well 
have written Lear twenty years after. 

" The little resemblance of diction and versification 
of this play to after works may also be ascribed to 
the same cause. We do not need the experience or the 
authority of Dryden to prove that the mastery of 'the 
numbers of his mother tongue ' is one of those gifts 
which ' nature never gives the young.' 

" The young poet, born in an age and country having 
a cultivated poetic literature, good or bad. must, until 
he has formed his own ear by practice, and thus too by 
practice made his language take the impress and colour 
of his own mind, echo and repeat the tune of his in- 
structors. This may be observed in Shakespeare "s 
earlier comedies : and to my ear many lines and pas- 
sages of Andronicus. — such as the speech of Tamora in 
act ii. scene 2, 'The birds chant melodies in every 
bush,' etc., etc., and in this same scene the lines in the 
mouth of the same personage, ' A barren detested vale, 
you see it is,' recall the rhythm and taste of much 
of the poetry of the Two Gentlemen of Verona. The 
matchless freedom of dramatic dialogue and emotion, 
and of lyrical movement — the grand organ swell of 
contemplative harmony, were all to be afterwards ac- 
quired by repeated trial and continued practice. The 
versification and melody of Titus Andronicus are nearer 
to those of Shakespeare's two or three earlier comedies 



26 Titus Andronicus 

than those are to the solemn harmony of Prospero's 
majestic morality. 

" Nor can I find in this play any proof of the scholar- 
like familiarity with Greek and Roman literature that 
Steevens asserts it to contain, and therefore to be as 
much above Shakespeare's reach in learning as beneath 
him in genius. This lauded scholarship does not go 
beyond such slight schoolboy familiarity with the more 
popular Latin poets read in schools, and with its my- 
thology, and some hackneyed scraps of quotation such 
as the poet has often shown elsewhere. The neglect 
of all accuracy of history, and of its costumes, the con- 
fusion of ancient Rome with modern and Christian 
habits, are more analogous to Shakespeare's own irregu- 
lar acquirements than to the manner of a regularly 
trained scholar. Mr. Hallam has said of the undis- 
puted Roman tragedies, that ' it is manifest that in these 
Roman character and still more Roman manners are 
not exhibited with the precision of the scholar ' — a 
criticism from which few scholars will dissent as to the 
manners, though few will agree with it as to ' Roman 
character.' But if this be true in any extent of the his- 
torical dramas composed in the fulness of the poet's 
knowledge and talent, we shall find the same sort of 
defects in Titus Andronicus, and carried to a greater 
excess. The story is put together without any histori- 
cal basis, or any congruity with any period of Roman 
history. The tribune of the people is represented as 
an efficient popular magistrate, while there is an elec- 



Introduction 27 

tive yet despotic emperor. The personages are Pagans, 
appealing to 'Apollo, Pallas, Juno, or Mercury,' while 
at the beginning of the play we find a wedding ac- 
cording to the Catholic ritual, with ' priest and holy 
water,' and tapers -burning bright,' and at the end an 
allusion to a Christian funeral, with ' burial and mourn- 
ful weeds and mournful bell ; ' to say nothing of 
Aaron's sneer at ' Popish ceremonies,' or of the 
' ruined monastery ' in the plain near Rome. 

'■' For all these reasons, I am so far from rejecting 
this play as spurious, that I regard it as a valuable and 
curious evidence of the history of its author's intellec- 
tual progress." 

The most recent editors, like the earlier ones, are 
divided in their opinions concerning the authorship 
of the play. Herford (" Eversley " ed. 1899), after rais- 
ing certain objections to the "touching up" theory, 
adds : " The view that the whole is Shakespeare's work 
is not to be lightly adopted. Neither in the choice of 
subject nor in the structure of the plot is there much 
that recalls Shakespeare. . . . Yet the play is not un- 
like, in the tragic sphere, what the author of Love's La- 
bour's Lost attempted in the sphere of comic satire. 
The same alert mind which there assembled oddities 
and extravagancies from every phase of contemporary 
life may have gratified the same instinct for profusion 
and multiplicity of weaving from its school reminis- 
cences this horrible fantasia of classical legends. More- 
over, with all the extravagance of certain incidents, 



28 Titus Andronicus 

Titus Andronicus bears marks of the sanity and self- 
control which distinguish even the most daring work of 
the young Shakespeare. . . . English criticism has too 
peremptorily decided against this claim on the ground 
of the palpable defects of the plot, and the difficulty of 
bringing the given tragedy into relation with the bright 
and joyous comedy which apparently occupied Shake- 
speare's early manhood. But we know far too little of 
that early manhood to be entitled to exclude from it 
whatever will not fall in with a particular scheme of 
development; and, in view of the strong external evi- 
dence, the more critical course appears to be a quali- 
fied acceptance." 

On the other hand, Mr. A. W. Verity (" Henry 
Irving " ed. 1890) says : " There can be little doubt that 
Titus Andronicus is no genuine, authentic play. Critics 
the most orthodox and rigidly conservative allow that 
only a small part of the drama which has come down 
to us under Shakespeare's name was written by him." 
After giving due weight to Meres's mention of the play 
and its insertion in the folio of 1623. he takes the 
ground that Ravenscroft's testimony, together with the 
internal evidence of style — " the prevailing tone of 
the play, the verse in which it is written, and its gen- 
eral aesthetic quality " — is against the theory that it is 
Shakespeare's. In his opinion, "the drama is a mere 
maze of bloodthirsty melodrama, pervaded by a fine 
full-flavoured charnel-house atmosphere. The author 
dabbles in blood ; it is blood, blood, everywhere, and we 



Introduction 29 

are spared nothing that can revolt and disgust. Really, 
if we are to assign Titus Andronicus to Shakespeare, 
■we had better assume at once that the play was a direct 
attempt to reproduce and revive the sensational horrors 
of the Jeronimo type of play-writing." He thinks that 
" most people will be content to believe that the play 
was written by some inferior dramatist, was just touched 
by Shakespeare, and then passed off by the theatrical 
manager, for obvious reasons, as a genuine work of the 
great poet." 

I may add an extract from Franz Horn's comments 
on the play (as quoted by Knight, who believes 
that " Shakespeare is, in every sense, the author of 
Titus ") : — 

" Let us consider the richest and most powerful 
poetic nature that the world has ever yet seen ; let us 
consider Shakspere, as boy and youth, in his circum- 
scribed external situation — without one discriminating 
friend, without a patron, without a teacher — without 
the possession of ancient or modern languages — in his 
loneliness at Stratford, following an uncongenial em- 
ployment ; and then, in the strange whirl of the so- 
called great world of London, contending for long 
years with unfavourable circumstances — in wearisome 
intercourse with this great world, which is, however, 
often found to be little ; — but also with nature, with 
himself, and with God: — What materials for the 
deepest contemplation ! This rich nature, thus cir- 
cumstanced, desires to explain the enigma of the 



3<o Titus Andronicus 

human being and the surrounding world. But it is not 
yet disclosed to himself. Ought he to wait for this ripe 
time before he ventures to dramatize ? Let us not de- 
mand anything superhuman : for, through the expression 
of error in song, will he find what accelerates the truth ; 
and well for him that he has no other sins to answer 
for than poetical ones, which later in life he has atoned 
for by the most glorious excellences ! 

" The elegiac tone of his juvenile poems allow us to 
imagine very deep passions in the youthful Shakspere. 
But this single tone was not long sufficient for him. 
He soon desired, from that stage ' which signifies the 
world ' (an expression that Schiller might properly have 
invented for Shakspere), to speak aloud what the world 
seemed to him — to him, the youth who was not yet 
able thoroughly to penetrate this seeming. Can there 
be here a want of colossal errors ? Not merely single 
errors. No : we should have a whole drama which is 
diseased at its very root — which rests upon one single 
monstrous error. Such a drama is this Titus. But 
what, as a man, was possible to him in Lear, the 
youth could not accomplish. The personages of the 
piece are not merely heathens, but most of them em- 
bittered and blind in their heathenism ; and only some 
single aspirations of something better can arise from a 
few of the best among them — aspirations which are 
breathed so gently as scarcely to be heard amidst 
the cries of desperation from the bloody waves that 
roar almost deafeningly." 



TITUS ANDRONICUS 



DRAMA TIS PERSONM 

Saturninus, son to the late Emperor of Rome. 

Bassianus, brother to Saturninus. 

TlTUS Andronicus, a noble Roman. 

Marcus Andronicus, tribune of the people, and brother to Titus. 

Lucius, ] 

Ouintus, | . .... 

Martius, f s ° nst ° litus. 

Minus, 

Young Lucius, a boy, son to Lucius. 

PuBLIUS, son to Marcus the Tribune. 
Sempronius i 

Caius, I kinsmen to Titus. 

Valentine, I 

/Kmii.ius, a noble Roman. 

Al-ARBUS, ] 

Demetrius, ' sons to Tamora. 

Chiron, 

Aaron, a Moor, beloved by Tamora. 

A Captain, Tribune, Messenger, and Clown. 

Goths and Romans. 

Tamora, Queen of the Goths. 
Lavinia, daughter to Titus Andronicus. 
A Nurse, and a black Child. 

Senators, Tribunes, Officers, Soldiers, and Attendants. 

Scene: Rome, and the country near it. 




Before the Capitol 



ACT I 

Scene I. Rome. Before the Capitol 

The Tomb of the Andronici appearing ; the Tribunes and 
Senators aloft. Enter, below, from one side, Satur- 
ninus and his Followers ; and, from the other side, 
Bassiantjs and his Followers ; with drum and colours 

Saturninus. Noble patricians, patrons of my right, 
Defend the justice of my cause with arms, 
And, countrymen, my loving followers, 
Plead my successive title with your swords. 
I am his first-born son that was the last 
That wore the imperial diadem of Rome ; 
Then let my father's honours live in me, 

TITUS ANDRONICUS — 3 23 



34 Titus Andronicus [Act I 

Nor wrong mine age with this indignity. 

Bassianus. Romans, friends, followers, favourers of 
my right, 
If ever Bassianus, Caesar's son, 10 

Were gracious in the eyes of royal Rome, 
Keep then this passage to the Capitol, 
And suffer not dishonour to approach 
The imperial seat, to virtue consecrate, 
To justice, continence, and nobility; 
But let desert in pure election shine, 
And, Romans, fight for freedom in your choice. 

Enter Marcus Andronicus, aloft, with the Cro7vn 

Marcus. Princes, that strive by factions and by 
friends 
Ambitiously for rule and empery, 

Know that the people of Rome, for whom we stand 20 
A special party, have by common voice, 
In election for the Roman empery. 
Chosen Andronicus, surnamed Pius 
For many good and great deserts to Rome. 
A nobler man, a braver warrior, 
Lives not this day within the city walls. 
lie by the senate is accited home 
From weary wars against the barbarous Goths, 
That, with his sons, a terror to our foes, 
Hath yok'd a nation strong, train 'd up in arms. 30 

Ten years are spent since first he undertook 
This cause of Rome and chastised with arms 



Scene I] Titus Andronicus 35 

Our enemies' pride ; five times he hath return'd 

Bleeding to Rome, bearing his valiant sons 

In coffins from the field ; 

And now at last, laden with honour's spoils, 

Returns the good Andronicus to Rome, 

Renowned Titus, flourishing in arms. 

Let us entreat, by honour of his name, 

Whom worthily you would have now succeed, 40 

And in the Capitol and senate's right, 

Whom you pretend to honour and adore, 

That you withdraw you and abate your strength ; 

Dismiss your followers and, as suitors should, 

Plead your deserts in peace and humbleness. 

Satu minus. How fair the tribune speaks to calm my 
thoughts ! 

Bassianus. Marcus Andronicus, so do I affy 
In thy uprightness and integrity, 
And so I love and honour thee and thine, 
Thy noble brother Titus and his sons, 50 

And her to whom my thoughts are humbled all, 
Gracious Lavinia, Rome's rich ornament, 
That I will here dismiss my loving friends, 
And to my fortunes and the people's favour 
Commit my cause in balance to be weigh 'd. 

\_Exeunt the Followers of Bassianus. 

Saturninus. Friends, that have been thus forward in 
my right, 
I thank you all and here dismiss you all, 
And to the love and favour of my country 



36 Titus Andronicus [Act I 

Commit myself, my person and the cause. — 

[Exeunt the Followers of Saturninus. 
Rome, be as just and gracious unto me 60 

As I am confident and kind to thee. — 
Open the gates, and let me in. 

Bassianus. Tribunes, and me, a poor competitor. 
\_Flourish. Saturninus and Bassianus go up into 
the Capitol. 

Enter a Captain 

Captain. Romans, make way ; the good Andronicus, 
Patron of virtue, Rome's best champion, 
Successful in the battles that he fights, 
With honour and with fortune is return'd 
From where he circumscribed with his sword 
And brought to yoke the enemies of Rome. 

Drums and trumpets sounded. Enter Martius and 
Mutius ; after them, two Men bearing a coffin covered 
with black ; then Lucius and Quintus. After them, 
Titus Andronicus ; and then Tamora, with Alar- 
bus, Demetrius, Chiron, Aaron, and other Goths, 
prisoners ; Soldiers and People following. The Bearers 
set down the coffin, and Titus speaks 

Titus. Hail, Rome, victorious in thy mourning weeds ! 
Lo, as the bark that hath discharg'd her fraught 71 

Returns with precious lading to the bay 
From whence at first she weigh'd her anchorage, 
Cometh Andronicus, bound with laurel boughs, 
To re-salute his country with his tears, 



Scene I] Titus Andronicus 37 

Tears of true joy for his return to Rome. — 

Thou great defender of this Capitol, 

Stand gracious to the rites that we intend ! — 

Romans, of five and twenty valiant sons, 

Half of the number that King Priam had, So 

Behold the poor remains, alive and dead ! 

These that survive let Rome reward with love ; 

These that I bring unto their latest home, 

With burial amongst their ancestors. 

Here Goths have given me leave to sheathe my sword. 

Titus, unkind and careless of thine own, 

Why suffer'st thou thy sons, unburied yet, 

To hover on the dreadful shore of Styx ? — 

Make way to lay them by their brethren. — 

\_The tomb is opened. 
There greet in silence, as the dead are wont, 90 

And sleep in peace, slain in your country's wars ! — 
O sacred receptacle of my joys, 
Sweet cell of virtue and nobility, 
How many sons of mine hast thou in store 
That thou wilt never render to me more ! 

Lucius. Give us the proudest prisoner :A the Goths, 
That we may hew his limbs, and on a pile 
Ad manes fratrum sacrifice his flesh 
Before this earthy prison of their bones ; 
That so the shadows be not unappeas'd, 100 

Nor we disturb'd with prodigies on earth. 

Titus. I give him you, the noblest that survives, 
The eldest son of this distressed queen. 



38 Titus Andronicus [Act I 

Tamora. Stay, Roman brethren! — Gracious con- 
queror, 
Victorious Titus, rue the tears I shed, 
A mother's tears in passion for her son ; 
And if thy sons were ever dear to thee, 
O, think my son to be as dear to me ! 
Sufficeth not that we are brought to Rome, 
To beautify thy triumphs and return, no 

Captive to thee and to thy Roman yoke, 
But must my sons be slaughter'd in the streets 
For valiant doings in their country's cause ? 
O, if to fight for king and commonweal 
Were piety in thine, it is in these. 
Andronicus, stain not thy tomb with blood ! 
Wilt thou draw near the nature of the gods ? 
Draw near them then in being merciful ; 
Sweet mercy is nobility's true badge. 
Thrice noble Titus, spare my first-born son. 120 

Titus. Patient yourself, madam, and pardon me. 
These are their brethren whom you Goths beheld 
Alive and dead, and for their brethren slain 
Religiously they ask a sacrifice ; 
To this your son is mark'd, and die he must, 
To appease their groaning shadows that are gone. 

Lucius. Away with him ! and make a fire straight ; 
And with our swords, upon a pile of wood, 
Let's hew his limbs till they be clean consum'd. 

\_Exeii7it Lucius, Quintus, JLartius, and 
Mutius, with Alarbus. 



Scene ij Titus Andronicus 39 

Tamora. O cruel, irreligious piety ! 130 

Chiron. Was ever Scythia half so barbarous ? 
Demetrius. Oppose not Scythia to ambitious Rome. 
Alarbus goes to rest, and we survive 
To tremble under Titus' threatening looks. 
Then, madam, stand resolv'd, but hope withal 
The selfsame gods that arm'd the queen of Troy 
With opportunity of sharp revenge 
Upon the Thracian tyrant in his tent 
May favour Tamora, the queen of Goths — 
When Goths were Goths and Tamora was queen — 140 
To quit the bloody wrongs upon her foes. 

Re-enter Lucius, Quintus, Martius, and Mutius, with 
their swords bloody 

Lucius. See, lord and father, how we have perform 'd 
Our Roman rites ; Alarbus' limbs are lopp'd, 
And entrails feed the sacrificing fire 

Whose smoke, like incense, doth perfume the sky. v 

Remaineth nought but to inter our brethren, 
And with loud larums welcome them to Rome. 

Titus. Let it be so ; and let Andronicus 
Make this his latest farewell to their souls. — 

\Trumpet sounded, and the coffin laid in the tomb. 
In peace and honour rest you here, my sons ; 150 

Rome's readiest champions, repose you here, 
Secure from worldly chances and mishaps ! 
Here lurks no treason, here no envy swells, 
Here grow no damned grudges ; here are no storms, 



40 Titus Andronicus [Act I 

No noise, but silence and eternal sleep ; 

In peace and honour rest you here, my sons ! 

Enter Lavinia 

Lavinia. In peace and honour live Lord Titus long ! 
My noble lord and father, live in fame ! 
Lo, at this tomb my tributary tears 
I render for my brethren's obsequies ; 160 

-And at thy feet I kneel with tears of joy, __ _ 

Shed on the earth, for thy return to Rome. 
(), bless me here with thy victorious hand 
Whose fortunes Rome's best citizens applaud ! 

Titus. Kind Rome, that hast thus lovingly reserv'd 
The cordial of mine age to glad my heart ! — 
Lavinia, live ; outlive thy father's days, 
And fame's eternal date, for virtue's praise ! 

Enter, below, Marcus Andronicus and Tribunes ; 
re-enter Saturninus and Bassianus, attended 

Marcus. Long live Lord Titus, my beloved brother, 
Gracious triumpher in the eyes of Rome! ■ 170 

Titus. Thanks, gentle tribune, noble brother Marcus. 

Marcus. And welcome, nephews, from successful 
wars, 
You that survive, and you that sleep in fame ! 
Fair lords, your fortunes are alike in all, 
That in your country's service drew your swords ; 
But safer triumph is this funeral pomp, 
That hath aspir'd to Solon's happiness 
And triumphs over chance in honour's bed. — 



Scene ij Titus Andronicus 41 

Titus Andronicus, the people of Rome, 

Whose friend in justice thou hast ever been, 1S0 

Send thee by me, their tribune and their trust, 

This palliament of white and spotless hue, 

And name thee in election for the empire, 

With these our late-deceased emperor's sons ; 

Be candidatus then, and put it on, 

And help to set a head on helpless Rome. 

Titus. A better head her glorious body fits 
Than his that shakes for age and feebleness. 
What should I don this robe and trouble you ? 
Be chosen with proclamations to-day, 190 

To-morrow yield up rule, resign my life, 
And set abroad new business for you all ? — 
Rome, I have been thy soldier forty years, 
And led my country's strength successfully, 
And buried one and twenty valiant sons, 
Knighted in field, slain manfully in arms, 
In right and service of their noble country. 
Give me a staff of honour for mine age, 
But not a sceptre to control the world ; 
Upright he held it, lords, that held it last. 200 

Marcus. Titus, thou shalt obtain and ask the empery. 

Sa tit minus. Proud and ambitious tribune, canst thou 
tell? 

Titus. Patience, Prince Saturninus. 

Saturninus. Romans, do me right! — 

Patricians, draw your swords, and sheathe them not 
Till Saturninus be Rome's emperor ! — 



42 Titus Andronicus [Act I 

Andronicus, would thou wert shipp'd to hell 
Rather than rob me of the people's hearts ! 

Lucius. Proud Saturnine, interrupter of the good 
That noble-minded Titus means to thee ! 209 

Titus. Content thee, prince ; I will restore to thee 
The people's hearts and wean them from themselves. 

Bassianus. Andronicus, I do not flatter thee, 
But honour thee, and will do till I die : 
My faction if thou strengthen with thy friends, 
I will most thankful be; and thanks to men 
Of noble minds is honourable meed. 

Titus. People of Rome, and people's tribunes here, 
I ask your voices and your suffrages ; 
Will you bestow them friendly on Andronicus ? 

Tribunes. To gratify the good Andronicus, 220 

And gratulate his safe return to Rome, 
The people will accept whom he admits. 

Titus. Tribunes, I thank you ; and this suit I make, 
That you create your emperor's eldest son, 
Lord Saturnine, whose virtues will, I hope, 
Reflect on Rome as Titan's rays on earth 
And ripen justice in this commonweal. 
Then, if you will elect by my advice, 
Crown him, and say ' Long live our emperor ! ' 

Marcus. With voices and applause of every sort, 230 
Patricians and plebeians, we create 
Lord Saturninus Rome's great emperor, 
And say ' Long live our Emperor Saturnine ! ' 

[A long flourish till tiny come down. 



Scene I] Titus Andronicus 43 

Saturninus. Titus Andronicus, for thy favours done 
To us in our election this day, 
I give thee thanks in part of thy deserts, 
And will with deeds requite thy gentleness ; 
And, for an onset, Titus, to advance 
Thy name and honourable family, 

Lavinia will I make my empress, 240 

Rome's royal mistress, mistress of my heart, 
And in the sacred Pantheon her espouse. 
Tell me. Andronicus, doth this motion please thee ? 

Titus. It doth, my worthy lord, and in this match 
I hold me highly honour'd of your grace ; 
And here in sight of Rome to Saturnine, 
King and commander of our commonweal, 
The wide world's emperor, do I consecrate 
My sword, my chariot, and my prisoners, 
Presents well worthy Rome's imperious lord. 250 

Receive them then, the tribute that I owe, 
Mine honour's ensigns humbled at thy feet. 

Saturninus. Thanks, noble Titus, father of my life ! 
How proud I am of thee and of thy gifts 
Rome shall record ; — and when I do forget 
The least of these unspeakable deserts, 
Romans, forget your fealty to me. 

Titus. [To Tainora] Xow, madam, are you prisoner 
to an emperor ; 
To him that, for your honour and your state, 
Will use you nobly and your followers. 260 

Saturninus. A goodly lady, trust me ; of the hue 



44 Titus Andronicus [Act I 

That I would choose, were I to choose anew. — 
Clear up, fair queen, that cloudy countenance ; 
Though chance of war hath wrought this change of 

cheer, 
Thou com'st not to be made a scorn in Rome. 
Princely shall be thy usage every way. 
Rest on my word, and let not discontent 
Daunt all your hopes. Madam, he comforts you 
Can make you greater than the queen of Goths. — 
Lavinia, you are not displeas'd with this ? 270 

Lavinia. Not I, my lord ; sith true nobility 
Warrants these words in princely courtesy. 

Saturninus. Thanks, sweet Lavinia. — Romans, let 
us go. 
Ransomless here we set our prisoners free. — 
Proclaim our honours, lords, with trump and drum. 

[Bio uri 's/i. Saturninus courts Tamora in dumb show. 

Bassianus. Lord Titus, by your leave, this maid is 
mine. [Seizing Lavinia. 

Titus. How, sir! are you in earnest then, my lord? 

Bassianus. Ay, noble Titus, and resolv'd withal 
To do myself this reason and this right. 

Marcus. ' Suum cuique ' is our Roman justice ; 2S0 
This prince in justice seizeth but his own. 

Lucius. And that he will, and shall, if Lucius live. 

Titus. Traitors, avaunt ! — Where is the emperor's 
guard? — 
Treason, my lord ! Lavinia is surpris'd. 

Saturninus. Surpris'd! by whom? 



Scene ij Titus Andronicus 45 

Bassianus. By him that justly may 

Bear his betroth'd from all the world away. 

[Exeunt Bassianus and Marcus, with Lavinia. 

Mutius. Brothers, help to convey her hence away, 
And with my sword I '11 keep this door safe 

[Exeunt Lucius, Quintus, and Martins. 

Titus. Follow, my lord, and I *11 soon bring her back. 

Mutius. My lord, you pass not here. 

Titus. What, villain boy ! 290 

Barr'st me my way in Rome ? [Stabbing Mutius. 

Mutius. Help, Lucius, help ! [Dies. 

Re-enter Lucius 

Lucius. My lord, you are unjust, and, more than so, 
In wrongful quarrel you have slain your son. 

Titus. Nor thou nor he are any sons of mine ; 
My sons would never so dishonour me. 
Traitor, restore Lavinia to the emperor. 

Lucius. Dead, if you will ; but not to be his wife 
That is another's lawful promis'd love. [Exit. 

Saturninus. Xo, Titus, no ; the emperor needs her not, 
Nor her, nor thee, nor any of thy stock. 300 

I '11 trust by leisure him that mocks me once ; 
Thee never, nor thy traitorous haughty sons, 
Confederates all thus to dishonour me. 
Was there none else in Rome to make a stale 
But Saturnine ? Full well, Andronicus, 
Agree these deeds with that proud brag of thine 
That saidst I begg'd the empire at thy hands. 



46 Titus Andronicus [Act 1 

Titus. O monstrous ! what reproachful words are 

these ? 
Saturninus. But go thy ways ; go, give that changing 
piece 
To him that flourish'd for her with his sword. 310 

A valiant son-in-law thou shalt enjoy ; 
One fit to bandy with thy lawless sons, 
To ruffle in the commonwealth of Rome. 

Titus. These words are razors to my wounded heart. 
Saturninus. And therefore, lovely Tamora, queen of 
Goths, 
That like the stately Phcebe 'mongst her nymphs 
Dost overshine the gallant'st dames of Rome. 
If thou be pleas'd with this my sudden choice, 
Behold, I choose thee. Tamora, for my bride, 
And will create thee empress of Rome. 320 

Speak, queen of Goths, dost thou applaud my choice ? 
! And here I swear by all the Roman gods, 
yJ**VSith priest and holy "water are so near 

'And tapers burn so bright and everything 
In readiness for Hymenaeus stand. 
I will not re-salute the streets of Rome, 
Or climb my palace, till from forth this place 
I lead espous'd my bride along with me. 

Tamora. And here, in sight of heaven, to Rome I 
swear, 
If Saturnine advance the queen of Goths, 330 

She will a handmaid be to his desires, 
A loving nurse, a mother to his youth. 



Scene I] Titus Andronicus 47 

Saturninus. Ascend, fair queen, Pantheon. — Lords, 
accompany 
Your noble emperor and his lovely bride, 
Sent by the heavens for Prince Saturnine, 
Whose wisdom hath her fortune conquered ; 
There shall we consummate our spousal rites. 

[Exeunt all but Titus. 

Titus. I am not bid to wait upon this bride. 
Titus, when wert thou wont to walk alone, 
Dishonour'd thus, and challenged of wrongs ? 340 

Re-enter Marcus, Lucius, Quintus, and Martius 

Marcus. O Titus, see, O, see what thou hast done ! 
In a bad quarrel slain a virtuous son. 

Titus. No. foolish tribune, no ; no son of mine, 
Xor thou, nor these, confederates in the deed 
That hath dishonour'd all our family ; 
Unworthy brother, and unworthy sons ! 

Lucius. But let us give him burial, as becomes ; 
Give Mutius burial with our brethren. 

Titus. Traitors, away ! he rests not in this tomb. 
This monument five hundred years hath stood, 350 

Which I have sumptuously re-edified. 
Here none but soldiers and Rome's servitors 
Repose in fame, none basely slain in brawls ; 
Bury him where you can, he comes not here. 

Marcus. My lord, this is impiety in you. 
My nephew Mutius' deeds do plead for him ; 
He must be buried wiih his brethren. 



48 Titus Andronicus [Act I 

^- ' I And shall, or him we will accompany. 

Martins. ) 

Titus. And shall ! what villain was it spake that 

word ? 

Quintus. lie that would vouch it in any place but 

here. 360 

Titus. What, would you bury him i» my despite ? 

Marcus. No, noble Titus, but entreat of thee 

To pardon Mutius and to bury him. 

Titus. Marcus, even thou hast struck upon my crest, 

And, with these boys, mine honour thou hast wounded. 

My foes I do repute you every one ; 

So, trouble me no more, but get you gone. 

/Martins. He is not with himself ; let us withdraw. 

/ Quintus. Not I, till Mutius' bones be buried. 

L \Marcus and the Sons of Titus kneel. 

/ Marcus. Brother, for in that name doth nature 

*~1 plead, — 370 

■ Quintus. Father, and in that name doth nature 

speak, — 

^^Titus. Speak thou no more, if all the rest will speed. 

Marcus. Renowned Titus, more than half my 

soul, — 

Lucius. Dear father, soul and substance of us all, — 

Marcus. Suffer thy brother Marcus to inter 

His noble nephew here in virtue's nest, 

That died in honour and Lavinia's cause. 

Thou art a Roman, be not barbarous. 

The Greeks upon advice did bury Ajax 



Scene I] Titus Andronicus 49 

That slew himself, and wise Laertes' son 3S0 

Did graciously plead for his funerals ; 

Let not young Mutius, then, that was thy joy, 

Be barr'd his entrance here. 

Titus. Rise, Marcus, rise. 

The dismall'st day is this that e'er I saw, 
To be dishonour'd by my sons in Rome ! — - 
Well, bury him, and bury me the next. 

\_Mutius is put into the tomb. 

Lucius. There lie thy bones, sweet Mutius, with thy 
friends 
Till we with trophies do adorn thy tomb. 

All. [Kneeling] Xo man shed tears for noble Mutius ; 
He lives in fame that died in virtue's cause. 390 

Marcus. My lord, to step out of these dreary dumps, 
How comes it that the subtle queen of Goths 
Is of a sudden thus advane'd in Rome ? 

Titus. I know not, Marcus, but I know it is ; 
Whether by device or no, the heavens can tell. 
Is she not then beholding to the man 
That brought her for this high good turn so far? 
Yes, and will nobly him remunerate. 

Flourish. Re-enter, front one side, Saturninus attended, 
Tamora, Demetrius, Chiron, and Aaron ; from the 
other, Bassiantjs, Lavinia, and others 

Saturninus. So, Bassianus, you have play'd your 
prize ; 
God give you joy, sir. of your gallant bride ! 400 

TITUS ANDRONICUS — 4 



50 Titus Andronicus [Act I 

Bassianus. And you of yours, my lord ! I say no 
more, 
Nor wish no less ; and so I take my leave. 

Saturninus. Traitor, if Rome have law or we have 
power, 
Thou and thy faction shall repent this rape. 

Bassianus. Rape call you it, my lord, to seize my own, 
My true-betrothed love and now my wife ? 
But let the laws of Rome determine all ; 
Meanwhile I am possess'd of that is mine. 

Saturninus. 'Tis good, sir; you are very short with 
us, 
But if we live we '11 be as sharp with you. 410 

Bassianus. My lord, what I have done, as best I may 
Answer I must and shall do with my life. 
Only thus much I give your grace to know : 
By all the duties that I owe to Rome, 
This noble gentleman, Lord Titus here, 
Is in opinion and in honour wrong'd, 
That in the rescue of Lavinia 
With his own hand did slay his youngest son, 
In zeal to you and highly mov'd to wrath 
To be controll'd in that he frankly gave. 420 

Receive him then to favour, Saturnine, 
That hath express'd himself in all his deeds 
A father and a friend to thee and Rome. 

Titus. Prince Bassianus, leave to plead my deeds : 
'T is thou and those that have dishonour'd me. 
Rome and the righteous heavens be my judge 



Scene I] Titus Andronicus 51 

How I have lov'd and honour'd Saturnine ! 

Tamorct. My worthy lord, if ever Tamora 
Were gracious in those princely eyes of thine, 
Then hear me speak indifferently for all, 430 

And at my suit, sweet, pardon what is past. 

Saturninus. What, madam ! be dishonour'd openly, 
And basely put it up without revenge ? 

Tamora. Not so, my lord ; the gods of Rome forfend 
I should be author to dishonour you ! 
But on mine honour dare I undertake 
For good Lord Titus' innocence in all, 
Whose fury not dissembled speaks his griefs. 
Then, at my suit, look graciously on him ; 
Lose not so noble a friend on vain suppose, 440 

Nor with sour looks afflict his gentle heart. — 
\Aside to Saturninus\ My lord, be rul'd by me, be won 

at last ; 
Dissemble all your griefs and discontents. 
You are but newly planted in your throne ; 
Lest, then, the people, and patricians too, 
Upon a just survey, take Titus' part, 
And so supplant you for ingratitude, . 
Which Rome reputes to be a heinous sin, 
Yield at entreats, and then let me alone. 
I '11 find a clay to massacre them all 450 

And raze their faction and their family, 
The cruel father and his traitorous sons, 
To whom I sued for my dear son's life. 
And make them know what 't is to let a queen 



52 Titus Andronicus [Act I 

Kneel in the streets and beg for grace in vain. — 
Come, come, sweet emperor, — come, Andronicus, — 
Take up this good old man, and cheer the heart 
That dies in tempest of thy angry frown. 

Saturninus. Rise, Titus, rise ; my empress hath pre- 
vails. 

Titus. I thank your majesty, and her, my lord ; 460 
These words, these looks, infuse new life in me. 

Tamora. Titus, I am incorporate in Rome, 
A Roman now adopted happily, 
And must advise the emperor for his good. 
This day all quarrels die, Andronicus ; 
And let it be mine honour, good my lord, 
That I have reconcil'd your friends and you. — 
For you, Prince Bassianus, I have pass'd 
My word and promise to the emperor 
That you will be more mild and tractable. — 470 

And fear not, lords, — and you, Lavinia ; — 
By my advice, all humbled on your knees, 
You shall ask pardon of his majesty. 

Lucius. We do, and vow to heaven and to his highness 
That what we did was mildly as we might, 
Tendering our sister's honour and our own. 

Marcus. That, on mine honour, here I do protest. 

Saturninus. Away, and talk not ; trouble us no more. 

Tamora. Nay, nay, sweet emperor, we must all be 
friends. 
The tribune and his nephews kneel for grace. 4S0 

I will not be denied ; sweet heart, look back. 



Scene I] Titus Andronicus §3 

Saturninus. Marcus, for thy sake and thy brother's 
here, 
And at my lovely Tamora's entreats, 
I do remit these young men's heinous faults ; 
Stand up. — 

Lavinia, though you left me like a churl, 
I found a friend, and sure as death I swore 
I would not part a bachelor from the priest. 
Come, if the emperor's court can feast two brides, 
You are my guest, Lavinia, and your friends. — ■ 490 

This day shall be a love-day, Tamora. 

Titus. To-morrow, an it please your majesty 
To hunt the panther and the hart with me, 
With horn and hound we'll give your grace bonjour. 

Saturninus. Be it so, Titus, and gramercy too. 

[Flourish. Exeunt. 











'ISPS* 







The Hunt (Scene 2) 



ACT II 

Scene I. Rome. Before the Palace 

Enter Aaron 

Aaron. Now climbeth Tamora Olympus* top, 
Safe out of fortune's shot, and sits aloft. 
Secure of thunder's crack or lightning flash, 
Advanc'd above pale envy's threatening reach. 
As when the golden sun salutes the morn, 
And, having gilt the ocean with his beams, 
Gallops the Zodiac in his glistering coach, 
And overlooks the highest-peering hills, 
So Tamora ; 

Upon her wit doth earthly honour wait, 

54 



Scene I] Titus Andronicus 55 

And virtue stoops and trembles at her frown. 

Then, Aaron, arm thy heart, and fit thy thoughts, 

To mount aloft with thy imperial mistress, 

And mount her pitch whom thou in triumph long 

Hast prisoner held, fetter'd in amorous chains, 

And faster bound to Aaron's charming eyes 

Than is Prometheus tied to Caucasus. 

Away with slavish weeds and servile thoughts ! 

I will be bright and shine in pearl and gold, 

To wait upon this new-made empress. 20 

To wait, said I ? to wanton with this queen, 

This goddess, this Semiramis, this nymph, 

This siren, that will charm Rome's Saturnine, 

And see his shipwrack and his commonweal's. — 

Holloa ! what storm is this ? 

Enter Demetrius and Chiron, braving 

Demetrius. Chiron, thy years want wit, thy wit wants 
edge, 
And manners, to intrude where I am grae'd 
And may, for aught thou know'st, affected be. 

Chiron. Demetrius, thou dost overween in all, 
And so in this, to bear me clown with braves. 30 

'T is rot the difference of a year or two 
Makes me less gracious or thee more fortunate. 
I am as able and as fit as thou 
To serve and to deserve my mistress' grace ; 
And that my sword upon thee shall approve, 
And plead my passions for Lavinia's love. 



56 Titus Andronicus [Act II 

• 

Aaron. \_Aside\ Clubs, clubs ! these lovers will not 
keep the peace. 

Demetrius. Why, boy, although our mother, unadvis'd, 
Gave you a dancing-rapier by your side, 
Are you so desperate grown to threat your friends ? 40 
Go to ; have your lath glued within your sheath 
Till you know better how to handle it. 

Chiron. Meanwhile, sir, with the little skill I have, 
Full well shalt thou perceive how much I dare. 

Demetrius. Ay, boy, grow ye so brave? \_They draw. 

Aaron. [Coming foriuard\ Why, how now, lords ! 

So near the emperor's palace dare you draw, 
And maintain such a quarrel openly? 
Full well I wot the ground of all this grudge. 
I would not for a million of gold 

The cause were known to them it most concerns ; 50 

Nor would your noble mother for much more 
Be so dishonour'd in the court of Rome. 
For shame, put up ! 

Demetrius. Not I, till I have sheathed 

My rapier in his bosom, and withal 
Thrust those reproachful speeches down his throat 
That he hath breath'd in my dishonour here. 

Chiron. For that I am prepar'd and full resolv'd, 
Foul-spoken coward, that thunder'st with thy tongue. 
And with thy weapon nothing dar'st perform ! 

Aaron. Away. I say ! 60 

Now by the gods that warlike Goths adore, 
This petty brabble will undo us all. 



Scene I] Titus Andronicus 57 

Why, lords, and think you not how dangerous 

It is to jet upon a prince's right ? 

What, is Lavinia then become so loose, 

Or Bassianus so degenerate. 

That for her love such quarrels may be broach'd 

Without controlment, justice, or revenge ? 

Young lords, beware ! an should the empress know 

This discord's ground, the music would not please. 70 

Chiron. I care not, I, knew she and all the world ; 
I love Lavinia more than all the world. 

Demetrius. Youngling, learn thou to make some 
meaner choice ; 
Lavinia is thine older brother's hope. 

Aaron. Why, are ye mad ? or know ye not, in Rome 
How furious and impatient they be, 
And cannot brook competitors in love ? 
7 tell you, lords, you do but plot your deaths 
By this device. 

Chi /-on. Aaron, a thousand deaths 

Would I propose to achieve her whom I love. So 

Aaron. To achieve her ! how ? 

Demetrius. Why mak'st thou it so strange ? 

She is a woman, therefore may be woo'd ; 
She is a woman, therefore may be won ; 
She is Lavinia. therefore must be lov'd. 
What, man ! more water glideth by the mill 
Than wots the miller of, and easy it is 
Of a cut loaf to steal a shive, we know ; 
Though Bassianus be the emperor's brother, 



58 Titus Andronicus [Act 11 

Better than he have worn Vulcan's badge. S9 

Aaron. \_Aside\ Ay, and as good as Saturninus may. 

Demetrius. Then why should he despair that knows 
to court it 
With words, fair looks, and liberality ? 
What, hast not thou full often struck a doe, 
And borne her cleanly by the keeper's nose ? 

Aaron. Why, then, it seems, some certain snatch or 
so 
Would serve your turns. 

Chiron. Ay, so the turn were serv'd. 

Demetrius. Aaron, thou hast hit it. 

Aaron. Would you had hit it too ! 

Then should not we be tir'd with this ado. 
Why. hark ye, hark ye ! and are you such fools 
To square for this ? would it offend you, then, 100 

That both should speed ? 

Chiron. Faith, not me. 

Demetrius. Xor me, so I were one. 

Aaron. For shame, be friends, and join for that you 
jar: 
'T is policy and stratagem must do 
That you affect ; and so must you resolve 
That what you cannot as you would achieve 
You must perforce accomplish as you may. 
Take this of me, Lucrece was not more chaste 
Than this Favinia, Fassianus' love. 

A speedier course than lingering languishment no 

Must we pursue, and I have found the path. 



Scene IJ Titus Andronicus 59 

My lords, a solemn hunting is in hand ; 

There will the lovely Roman ladies troop: 

The forest walks are wide and spacious, 

And many unfrequented plots there are 

Fitted by kind for rape and villany. 

Single you thither then this dainty doe, 

And strike her home by force, if not by words ; 

This way, or not at all, stand you in hope. 

Come, come, our empress, with her sacred wit 120 

To villany and vengeance consecrate, 

Will we acquaint with all that we intend ; 

And she shall file our engines with advice. 

That will not suffer you to square yourselves, 

But to your wishes' height advance you both. 

The emperor's court is like the house of Fame, 

The palace full of tongues, of eyes, and ears. 

The woods are ruthless, dreadful, deaf, and dull ; 

There speak, and strike, brave boys, and take your 

turns ; 
There serve your lusts, shadow'd from heaven's eye, 
And revel in Lavinia's treasury. 131 

Chiron. Thy counsel, lad, smells of no cowardice. 

Demetrius. Sit fas aut nefas. till I find the stream 
To cool this heat, a charm to calm these fits, 
Per Styga, per manes vehor. \Exeunt. 



6o Titus Andronicus [Act II 

Scene II. A Forest near Rome. Horns and Cry of 
Hounds heard 

Enter Titus Andronicus, with Hunters, etc., Marcus, 
Lucius, Quintus, and Martius 

Titus. The hunt is up, the morn is bright and grey, 
The fields are fragrant and the woods are green ; 
Uncouple here and let us make a bay, 
And wake the emperor and his lovely bride, 
And rouse the prince and ring a hunter's peal, 
That all the court may echo with the noise. 
Sons, let it be your charge, as it is ours, 
To attend the emperor's person carefully ; 
I have been troubled in my sleep this night, 
But dawning day new comfort hath inspir'd. — - 10 

A cry of hounds, and horns winded in a peal. Enter 
Saturninus, Tamora, Bassianus, Lavinia, Deme- 
trius, Chiron, and Attendants. 

Many good morrows to your majesty ; — 
Madam, to you as many and as good. — 
I promised your grace a hunter's peal. 

Saturninus. And you have rung it lustily, my lord ; 
Somewhat too early for new-married ladies. 

Bassianus. Lavinia, how say you ? 

Lavinia. I say, no ; 

I have been broad awake two hours and more. 

Saturninus. Come on, then ; horse and chariots let 
us have', 



Scene in] Titus Andronicus 61 

And to our sport. — \To Tamord\ Madam, now shall 

ye see 
Our Roman hunting. Apre'^ 

Marcus. I have dogs, my lord, — - i v 

Will rouse the proudest panther in the chase 
And climb the highest promontory top. -— — 



Titus. And I have horse will follow where the game 
Makes way, and run like swallows o'er the plain. 

Demetrius. Chiron, we hunt not, we, with horse nor 
hound, 
But hope to pluck a dainty doe to ground. [Exeunt. 

Scene III. A lonely Part of the Forest 

Enter Aaron, with a bag of gold 

Aaron. He that had wit would think that I had none, 
To bury so much gold under a tree 
And never after to inherit it. 
Let him that thinks of me so abjectly 
Know that this gold must coin a stratagem 
Which, cunningly effected, will beget 
A very excellent piece of villany ; 
And so repose, sweet gold, for their unrest 

[Hides the gold. 
That have their alms out of the empress' chest. 
Enter Tamora 
Tamora. My lovely Aaron, wherefore look'st thou 
sad, io 

When everything cloth make a gleeful boast ? 



62 Titus Andronicus [Act II 

The birds chant melody on every bush, 

The snake lies rolled in the cheerful sun, 

The green leaves quiver with the cooling wind 

And make a chequer'd shadow on the ground. 

Under their sweet shade, Aaron, let us sit, 

And, whilst the babbling echo mocks the hounds, 

Replying shrilly to the well-tuned horns, 

As if a double hunt were heard at once, 

Let us sit down and mark their yelping noise ; 20 

And, after conflict such as was suppos'd 

The wandering prince and Dido once enjoy 'd, 

When with a happy storm they were surpris'd 

And curtain'd with a counsel-keeping cave, 

We may, each wreathed in the other's arms, 

Our pastimes done, possess a golden slumber ; 

Whiles hounds and horns and sweet melodious birds 

Be unto us as is a nurse's song 

Of lullaby to bring her babe asleep. 

Aaron. Madam, though Venus govern your desires, 
Saturn is dominator over mine. 31 

What signifies my deadly-standing eye, 
My silence and my cloudy melancholy. 
My fleece of woolly hair that now uncurls 
Even as an adder when she doth unroll 
To do some fatal execution ? 
No, madam, these are no venereal signs; 
Vengeance is in my heart, death in my hand, 
Blood and revenge are hammering in my head. 
Hark, Tamora, the empress of my soul, 40 



Scene in] Titus Andronicus 63 

Which never hopes more heaven than rests in thee, 

This is the day of doom for Bassianus ; 

His Philomel must lose her tongue to-day, 

Thy sons make pillage of her chastity 

And wash their hands in Bassianus' blood. 

Seest thou this letter ? take it up, I pray thee, 

And give the king this fatal-plotted scroll. 

Now question me no more, we are espied ; 

Here comes a parcel of our hopeful booty, 

Which dreads not yet their lives' destruction. 50 

Tamora. Ah, my sweet Moor, sweeter to me than life ! 

Aaron, Xo more, great empress ; Bassianus comes. 
Be cross with him, and I "11 go fetch thy sons 
To back thy quarrels, whatsoe'er they be. \Exit. 

Enter Bassianus and Lavinia 

Bassianus. Who have we here ? Rome's royal em- 
press, 
Unfurnish'd of her well-beseeming troop? 
Or is it Dian, habited like her, 
Who hath abandoned her holy groves 
To see the general hunting in this forest ? 

Tamora. Saucy controller of our private steps I 60 
Had I the power that some say Dian had, 
Thy temples should be planted presently 
With horns, as was Action's ; and the hounds 
Should drive upon thy new-transformed limbs, 
Unmannerly intruder as thou art ! 

Lavinia. Under your patience, gentle empress, 



64 Titus Andronicus [Act 11 

'T is thought you have a goodly gift in horning, 

And to be doubted that your Moor and you 

Are singled forth to try experiments. 

Jove shield your husband from his hounds to-day ! 70 

'T is pity they should take him for a stag. 

Bassianus. Believe me, queen, your swarth Cimme- 
rian 
Doth make your honour of his body's hue, 
Spotted, detested, and abominable. 
Why are you sequester'd from all your train, 
Dismounted from your snow-white goodly steed, 
And wander'd hither to an obscure plot, 
Accompanied but with a barbarous Moor, 
If foul desire had not conducted you ? 

Lavinia. And, being intercepted in your sport, So 
Great reason that my noble lord be rated 
For sauciness ! — I pray you, let us hence, 
And let her joy her raven-colour'd love ; 
This valley fits the purpose passing well. 

Bassianus. The king my brother shall have note of this. 

Lavinia. Ay, for these slips have made him noted 
long. — 
Good king, to be so mightily abus'd ! 

Tamora. Why have I patience to endure all this ? 

Enter Demetrius and Chiron 

Demetrius. How now, dear sovereign, and our gra- 
cious mother ! 
Why doth your highness look so pale and wan ? 90 



Scene in] Titus Andronicus 6$ 

Tamora. Have I not reason, think you, to look pale ? 
These two have tic'd me hither to this place. 
A barren detested vale, you see it is ; 
The trees, though summer, yet forlorn and lean, 
O'ercome with moss and baleful mistletoe. 
Here never shines the sun ; here nothing breeds, 
Unless the nightly owl or fatal raven ; 
And when they show'd me this abhorred pit 
They told me, here, at dead time of the night, 
A thousand fiends, a thousand hissing snakes, ioo 

Ten thousand swelling toads, as many urchins, 
Would make such fearful and confused cries 
As any mortal body hearing it 
Should straight fall mad or else die suddenly. 
No sooner had they told this hellish tale 
But straight they told me they would bind me here 
Unto the body of a dismal yew, 
And leave me to this miserable death ; 
And then they call'd me foul adulteress, 
Lascivious Goth, and all the bitterest terms no 

That ever ear did hear to such effect ; 
And, had you not by wondrous fortune come, 
This vengeance on me had they executed. 
Revenge it, as you love your mother's life, 
Or be ye not henceforth call'd my children. 

Demetrius. This is a witness that I am thy son. 

[Stabs Bassianus. 

Chiron. And this for me, struck home to show my 
strength. [A/so stabs Bassianus, who dies. 

TITUS ANDRONICUS — 5 



66 Titus Andronicus [Act n 

Lavinia. Ay, come, Semiramis, — nay, barbarous 
Tamora, 
For no name fits thy nature but thy own ! 

Tamora. Give me thy poniard ; you shall know, my 
boys, 120 

Your mother's hand shall right your mother's wrong. 

Demetrius. Stay, madam, here is more belongs to 
her ; 
First thrash the corn, then after burn the straw. 
This minion stood upon her chastity, 
Upon her nuptial vow, her loyalty, 
And with that painted hope braves your mightiness ; 
And shall she carry this unto her grave ? 

Chiron. An if she do, I would I were an eunuch. 
Drag hence her husband to some secret hole, 
And make his dead trunk pillow to our lust. 130 

Tamora. But when ye have the honey ye desire, 
Let not this wasp outlive ye, both to sting. 

Chiron. I warrant you, madam, we will make that 
sure. — 
Come, mistress, now perforce we will enjoy 
That nice-preserved honesty of yours. 

Lavinia. O Tamora ! thou bear'st a woman's face, — 

Tamora. I will not hear her speak ; away with her ! 

Lavinia. Sweet lords, entreat her hear me but a 
word. 

Demetrius. Listen, fair madam ; let it be your glory 
To see her tears, but be your heart to them 140 

As unrelenting flint to drops of rain. 



Scene Hi] Titus Andronicus 67 

Lavinia. When did the tiger's young ones teach the 
dam ? 
O, do not learn her wrath, — she taught it thee ; 
The milk thou suck'dst from her did turn to marble ; 
Even at thy teat thou hadst thy tyranny. — 
Yet every mother breeds not sons alike. 
[ To Chiron~\ Do thou entreat her show a woman pity. 

Chiron. What, wouldst thou have me prove myself a 
bastard ? 

Lavinia. T is true ; the raven doth not hatch a lark. 
Yet have I heard — O, could I find it now ! — 150 

The lion mov'd with pity did endure 
To have his princely paws par'd all away ; 
Some say that ravens foster forlorn children, 
The whilst their own birds famish in their nests. 
O, be to me, though thy hard heart say no, 
Nothing so kind, but something pitiful ! 

Tamora. I know not what it means ; away with her ! 

Lavinia. O, let me teach thee ! for my father's sake, 
That gave thee life when well he might have slain thee, 
Be not obdurate, open thy deaf ears. 160 

Tamora. Hadst thou in person ne'er offended me, 
Even for his sake am I pitiless. — 
Remember, boys, I pour'd forth tears in vain, 
To save your brother from the sacrifice, 
But fierce Andronicus would not relent. 
Therefore, away with her, and use her as you will ; 
The worse to her, the better lov'd of me. 

Lavinia. O Tamora, be call'd a gentle queen, 



68 Titus Andronicus [Act n 

And with thine own hands kill me in this place ! 

For 't is not life that I have begg'd so long ; 170 

Poor I was slain when Bassianus died. 

Tamora. What begg'st thou, then ? fond woman, let 

me go. 
Lavinia. 'T is present death I beg ; and one thing 
more 
That womanhood denies my tongue to tell : 
O, keep me from their worse than killing lust, 
And tumble me into some loathsome pit 
Where never man's eye may behold my body. 
Do this, and be a charitable murtherer. 

Tamora, So should I rob my sweet sons of their fee. 

No, let them satisfy their lust on thee. 1S0 

Demetrius. Away ! for thou hast stay'd us here too 

long. 
Lavinia. No grace ? no womanhood ? Ah, beastly 
creature ! 
The blot and enemy to our general name ! 
Confusion fall — 

Chiron. Nay, then I '11 stop your mouth. — Bring 
thou her husband ; 
This is the hole where Aaron bid us hide him. 

[Demetrius throws the body of Bassianus into the 
pit ; then exeunt Demetrius and Chiron, dragging 
off Lavinia. 
Tamora. Farewell, my sons ; see that you make her 
sure. — 
Ne'er let my heart know merry cheer indeed 



Scene Hi] Titus Andronicus 69 

Till all the Andronici be made away. 

Now will I hence to seek my lovely Moor, 190 

And let my spleenful sons this trull deflower. [Exit. 

Re-enter Aaron, with Quintus and Martius 

Aaron. Come on, my lords, the better foot before ; 
Straight will I bring you to the loathsome pit 
Where I espied the panther fast asleep. 

Quintus. My sight is very dull, whate'er it bodes. 

Martius. And mine, I promise you ; were 't not for 
shame, 
Well could I leave our sport to sleep awhile. 

[Falls into the pit. 

Quintus. What, art thou fallen? — What subtle hole 
is this, 
Whose mouth is cover'd with rude-growing briers, 
Upon whose leaves are drops of new-shed blood 200 
As fresh as morning dew distill'd on flowers ? 
A very fatal place it seems to me. — 
Speak, brother, hast thou hurt thee with the fall ? 

Martius. O brother, with the dismall'st object hurt 
That ever eye with sight made heart lament ! 

Aaron. [Aside^\ Now will I fetch the king to find 
them here, 
That he thereby may give a likely guess 
How these were they that made away his brother. [Exit. 

Martius. Why dost not comfort me and help me out 
From this unhallow'd and blood-stained hole ? 210 

Quintus. I am surprised with an uncouth fear ; 



70 Titus Andronicus [Act II 

A chilling sweat o'er-runs my trembling joints ; 
My heart suspects more than mine eye can see. 

Martins. To prove thou hast a true-divining heart, 
Aaron and thou look down into this den, 
And see a fearful sight of blood and death. 

Quintus. Aaron is gone, and my compassionate 
heart 
Will not permit mine eyes once to behold 
The thing whereat it trembles by surmise. 
O, tell me how it is ; for ne'er till now 220 

Was I a child to fear I know not what. 

Martins. Lord Bassianus lies embrewed here, 
All on a heap, like to a slaughter'd lamb, 
In this detested, dark, blood-drinking pit. 

Quintus. If it be dark, how dost thou know 't is he ? 

Martins. Upon his bloody finger he doth wear 
A precious ring, that lightens all the hole, 
Which, like a taper in some monument, 
Doth shine upon the dead man's earthy cheeks 
And shows the ragged entrails of the pit; 230 

So pale did shine the moon on Pyramus 
When he by night lay bath'd in maiden blood. 
O brother, help me with thy fainting hand — 
If fear hath made thee faint, as me it hath — 
Out of this fell-devouring receptacle, 
As hateful as Cocytus' misty mouth. 

Quintus. Reach me thy hand, that I may help thee 
out ; 
Or, wanting: strength to do thee so much good, 



Scene ill] Titus Andronicus 71 

I may be pluck'd into the swallowing womb 

Of this deep pit, poor Bassianus' grave. 240 

I have no strength to pluck thee to the brink. 

Martins. Nor I no strength to climb without thy 

help. 
Quintiis. Thy hand once more ; I will not loose 
again 
Till thou art here aloft or I below. 
Thou canst not come to me ; I come to thee. [Falls in. 

Enter Saturninus with Aaron 

Sahirninus. Along with me ; I '11 see what hole is 

here, 
And what he is that now is leap'd into it. — 
Say, who art thou that lately didst descend 
Into this gaping hollow of the earth ? 

Martins. The unhappy son of old Andronicus ; 250 
Brought hither in a most unlucky hour, 
To find thy brother Bassianus dead. 

Saturninus. My brother dead ! I know thou dost 
but jest. 
He and his lady both are at the lodge 
Upon the north side of this pleasant chase ; 
'T is not an hour since I left him there. 

Martins. We know not where you left him all alive ; 
But, out, alas ! here have we found him dead. 

Re-enter Tamora, with Attendants ; Titus Androni- 
cus, and Lucius 

Tamora. Where is mv lord the kins:? 



72 Titus Andronicus [Act H 

Saturninus. Here, Tamora, though griev'd with kill- 
ing grief. 260 

Tamora. Where is thy brother Bassianus ? 

Saturninus, Now to the bottom dost thou search my 
wound ; 
Poor Bassianus here lies murthered. 

Tamora. Then all too late I bring this fatal writ, 
The complot of this timeless tragedy, 
And wonder greatly that man's face can fold 
In pleasing smiles such murtherous tyranny. 

\_SJic giveth Saturnine a letter. 

Saturninus. [Reads] l An if we miss to meet Aim hand- 
somely — 
Siucct huntsman, Bassianus V is toe mean — 
Do thou so much as dig the grave for him ; 270 

Thou know'st our meaning. Look for thy reward 
Among the nettles at the elder-tree 
Which overs hades the mouth of that same pit 
Where we decreed to bury Bassianus. 
Do this, and purchase us thy lasting friends.'' — • 
O Tamora ! was ever heard the like ? 
This is the pit, and this the elder-tree. 
Look, sirs, if you can find the huntsman out 
That should have murther'd Bassianus here. 

Aaron. My gracious lord, here is the bag of gold. 

Saturninus. [To Titus'] Two of thy whelps, fell curs 
of bloody kind, 2S1 

Have here bereft my brother of his life. — ■ 
Sirs, drag them from the pit unto the prison : 



Scene ill] Titus Andronicus 73 

There let them bide until we have devis'd 
Some never-heard-of torturing pain for them. 

Tamora. What, are they in this pit ? O wondrous 
thing ! 
How easily murther is discovered ! 

Titus. High emperor, upon my feeble knee 
I beg this boom, with tears not lightly shed, 
That this fell fault of my accursed sons, — 290 

Accursed, if the fault be proved in them, — 

Saturninus. If it be prov'd ! you see it is apparent. — 
Who found this letter ? — Tamora, was it you ? 

Tamora. Andronicus himself did take it up. 

Titus. I did, my lord : yet let me be their bail ; 
For, by my father's reverend tomb, I vow 
They shall be ready at your highness' will 
To answer their suspicion with their lives. 

Saturninus. Thou shalt not bail them ; see thou fol- 
low me. — 
Some bring the murther'd body, some the murtherers. 
Let them not speak a word, the guilt is plain ; 301 

For, by my soul, were there worse end than death, 
That end upon them should be executed. 

Tamora. Andronicus, I will entreat the king. 
Fear not thy sons ; they shall do well enough. 

Titus. Come, Lucius, come ; stay not to talk with 
them. \Exeunt. 



74 Titus Andronicus [Act n 

Scene IV. Another Part of the Forest 

Enter Demetrius and Chiron, with Lavinia, ravished ; 
her hands cut off, and her tongue cut out 

Demetrius. So, now go tell, an if thy tongue can 

speak, 
Who 't was that cut thy tongue and ravish'd thee. 

Chiron. Write clown thy mind, bewray thy meaning 

so, 
An if thy stumps will let thee play the scribe. 

Demetrius. See, how with signs and tokens she can 

scrowl. 
Chiron. Go home, call for sweet water, wash thy 

hands. 
Demetrius. She hath no tongue to call, nor hands to 

wash ; 
And so let 's leave her to her silent walks. 

Chiron. An 't were my case, I should go hang my- 
self. 
Demetrius. If thou hadst hands to help thee knit the 

cord. \_Exeunt Demetrius and Chiron. 

Enter Marcus 

Marcus. Who is this ? my niece, that flies away so 
fast! — ii 

Cousin, a word ; where is your husband ? 
If I do dream, would all my wealth would wake me ! 
If I do wake, some planet strike me down, 
That I may slumber in eternal sleep ! — 



Scene IV] Titus Andronicus 75 

Speak, gentle niece, what stern ungentle hands 

Have lopp'd and hew'd and made thy body bare 

Of her two branches, those sweet ornaments, 

Whose circling shadows kings have sought to sleep in, 

And might not gain so great a happiness 20 

As have thy love ? Why dost not speak to me? 

Alas, a crimson river of warm blood, 

Like to a bubbling fountain stirr'd with wind, 

Doth rise and fall between thy rosed lips, 

Coming and going with thy honey breath. 

But, sure, some Tereus hath deflowered thee, 

And, lest thou shouldst detect him, cut thy tongue. 

Ah, now thou turn'st away thy face for shame ! 

And. notwithstanding all this loss of blood, 

As from a conduit with three issuing spouts, 30 

Yet do thy cheeks look red as Titan's face 

Blushing to be encounter'd with a cloud. 

Shall I speak for thee ? shall I say 't is so ? 

O, that I knew thy heart, and knew the beast, 

That I might rail at him, to ease my mind ! 

Sorrow concealed, like an oven stopp'd, 

Doth burn the heart to cinders where it is. 

Fair Philomela, she but lost her tongue, 

And in a tedious sampler sew'd her mind ; 

But, lovely niece, that mean is cut from thee. 40 

A craftier Tereus, cousin, hast thou met, 

And he hath cut those pretty fingers off 

That could have better sew'd than Philomel. 

O, had the monster seen those lily hands 



j 6 Titus Andronicus [Act II 

Tremble, like aspen-leaves, upon a lute 

And make the silken strings delight to kiss them, 

He would not then have touch'd them for his life ! 

Or, had he heard the heavenly harmony 

Which that sweet tongue hath made, 

He would have dropp'd his knife and fell asleep, 50 

As Cerberus at the Thracian poet's feet. 

Come, let us go, and make thy father blind ; 

For such a sight will blind a father's eye. 

One hour's storm will drown the fragrant meads ; 

What will whole months of tears thy father's eyes ? 

Do not draw back, for we will mourn with thee. 

O, could our mourning ease thy misery 1 \Exeunt. 




Street in Rome 



ACT III 

Scene I. Rome. A Street 

Enter Judges, Senators, and Tribunes, with Martius 
and Quintus, bound, passing on to the place of exe- 
cution ; Titus going before, pleading. 

Titus. Hear me, grave fathers ! noble tribunes, stay ! 
For pity of mine age, whose youth was spent 
In dangerous wars whilst you securely slept, 
For all my blood in Rome's great quarrel shed, 
For all the frosty nights that I have watch'd, 
And for these bitter tears which now you see 
Filling the aged wrinkles in my cheeks, 
Be pitiful to my condemned sons, 

77 



78 Titus Andronicus [Act ill 

Whose souls are not corrupted as 't is thought. 

For two and twenty sons I never wept, 10 

Because they died in honour's lofty bed. 

[Lieth down ; the Judges, etc., pass by him, and Exeunt. 
For these, these, tribunes, in the dust I write 
My heart's deep languor and my soul's sad tears. 
Let my tears stanch the earth's dry appetite ; 
My sons' sweet blood will make it shame and blush. — 
O earth, I will befriend thee more with rain, 
That shall distil from these two ancient urns, 
Than youthful April shall with all his showers. 
In summer's drought I '11 drop upon thee still ; 
In winter with warm tears I '11 melt the snow, 20 

And keep eternal spring-time on thy face, 
So thou refuse to drink my dear sons' blood. — 

Enter Lucius, with his sword drawn 

O reverend tribunes ! O gentle, aged men ! 
Unbind my sons, reverse the doom of death ; 
And let me say, that never wept before, 
My tears are now prevailing orators. 

Lucius, O noble father, you lament in vain. 
The tribunes hear you not ; no man is by, 
And you recount your sorrows to a stone. 

Titus. Ah, Lucius, for thy brothers let me plead. — 30 
Grave tribunes, once more I entreat of you, — 

Lucius. My gracious lord, no tribune hears you speak. 

Titus. Why, 't is no matter, man. If they did hear 
They would not mark me, or if they did mark 



Scene I] Titus Andronicus 79 

They would not pity me ; yet plead I must, 
And bootless unto them. 
Therefore I tell my sorrows to the stones, 
Who, though they cannot answer my distress, 
Yet in some sort they are better than the tribunes 
For that they will not intercept my tale. 40 

When I do weep, they humbly at my feet 
Receive my tears and seem to weep with me ; 
And, were they but attired in grave weeds, 
Rome could afford no tribune like to these. 
A stone is soft as wax, tribunes more hard than stones ; 
A stone is silent and offendeth not, 
And tribunes with their tongues doom men to death. — 

\_Rises. 
But wherefore stand'st thou with thy weapon drawn ? 

Lucius. To rescue my two brothers from their death ; 
For which attempt the judges have pronounc'd 50 

My everlasting doom of banishment. 

Titus. O happy man ! they have befriended thee. 
Why, foolish Lucius, dost thou not perceive 
That Rome is but a wilderness of tigers ? 
Tigers must prey, and Rome affords no prey 
But me and mine ; how happy art thou, then, 
From these devourers to be banished ! 
But who comes with our brother Marcus here ? 

Enter Marcus and Lavinia 

Marcus. Titus, prepare thy aged eyes to weep, 
Or, if not so, thy noble heart to break ; 60 



80 Titus Andronicus [Act in 

I bring consuming sorrow to thine age. 

Titus. Will it consume me ? let me see it, then. 

Marcus. This was thy daughter. 

Titus. Why, Marcus, so she is. 

Lucius. Ay me, this object kills me ! 

Titus. Faint-hearted boy, arise, and look upon her. — 
Speak, my Lavinia, what accursed hand 
Hath made thee handless in thy father's sight ? 
What fool hath added water to the sea, 
Or brought a faggot to bright-burning Troy ? 
My grief was at the height before thou cam'st, 70 

And now, like Nilus, it disdaineth bounds. — 
Give me a sword, I '11 chop off my hands too, 
For they have fought for Rome, and all in vain ; 
And they have nursed this woe, in feeding life. 
In bootless prayer have they been held up, 
And they have serv'd me to effectless use ; 
Now all the service I require of them 
Is that the one will help to cut the other. — 
'T is well, Lavinia, that thou hast no hands ; 
For hands, to do Rome service, is but vain. So 

Lucius. Speak, gentle sister, who hath martyr'd thee ? 

Marcus. O, that delightful engine of her thoughts, 
That blabb'd them with such pleasing eloquence, 
Is torn from forth that pretty hollow cage 
Where, like a sweet melodious bird, it sung 
Sweet varied notes, enchanting every ear ! 

Lucius. O, say thou for her, who hath done this 
deed ? 



Scene ij Titus Andronicus 8 1 

Marcus. O, thus I found her, straying in the park ; 
Seeking to hide herself, as doth the deer 
That hath received some unrecuring wound. 90 

Titus. It was my deer, and he that wounded her 
Hath hurt me more than had he kill'd me dead ; 
For now I stand as one upon a rock 
Environ'd with a wilderness of sea, 
Who marks the waxing tide grow wave by wave, 
Expecting ever when some envious surge 
Will in his brinish bowels swallow him. 
This way to death my wretched sons are gone ; 
Here stands my other son, a banish'd man, 
And here my brother, weeping at my woes ; 100 

But that which gives my soul the greatest spurn, 
Is clear Lavinia, dearer than my soul. — 
Had I but seen thy picture in this plight, 
It would have madded me ; what shall I do 
Now I behold thy lively body so ? 
Thou hast no hands to wipe away thy tears, 
Nor tongue to tell me who hath martyr'd thee ; 
Thy husband he is dead, and for his death 
Thy brothers are condemn'd, and dead by this. — 
Look, Marcus ! — ah, son Lucius, look on her ! no 

When I did name her brothers, then fresh tears 
Stood on her cheeks, as doth the honey-dew 
Upon a gather'd lily almost wither'd. 

Marcus. Perchance she weeps because they kill'd 
her husband ; 
Perchance because she knows them innocent. 

TITUS ANDRONICUS — 6 



82 Titus Andronicus [Act in 

Titus. If they did kill thy husband, then be joyful, 
Because the law hath ta'en revenge on them. 
No, no, they would not do so foul a deed ; 
Witness the sorrow that their sister makes. 
Gentle Lavinia, let me kiss thy lips ; 120 

Or make some sign how I may do thee ease. 
Shall thy good uncle, and thy brother Lucius, 
And thou, and I, sit round about some fountain, 
Looking all downwards, to behold our cheeks 
How they are stain'd, as meadows, yet not dry, 
With miry slime left on them by a flood ? 
And in the fountain shall we gaze so long 
Till the fresh taste be taken from that clearness, 
And made a brine-pit with our bitter tears ? 
Or shall we cut away our hands, like thine ? 130 

Or shall Ave bite our tongues, and in dumb shows 
Pass the remainder of our hateful clays ? 
What shall we do ? let us that have our tongues 
Plot some device of further misery, 
To make us wonder'd at in time to come. 

Lucius. Sweet father, cease your tears ; for, at your 
grief, 
See how my wretched sister sobs and weeps. 

Marcus. Patience, dear niece. — Good Titus, dry 
thine eyes. 

Titus. Ah, Marcus, Marcus ! brother, well I wot 
Thy napkin cannot drink a tear of mine, 140 

For thou, poor man, hast drown'd it with thine own. 

Lucius. Ah, my Lavinia, I will wipe thy cheeks. 



Scene IJ Titus Andronicus 83 

Titus. Mark, Marcus, mark! I understand her signs ; 
Had she a tongue to speak, now would she say 
That to her brother which I said to thee : 
His napkin, with his true tears all bewet, 
Can do no service on her sorrowful cheeks. 
O, what a sympathy of woe is this, 
As far from help as Limbo is from bliss ! 

Enter Aaron 

Aaron. Titus Andronicus, my lord the emperor 150 
Sends thee this word, — that, if thou love thy sons, 
Let Marcus, Lucius, or thyself, old Titus, 
Or any one of you, chop off your hand, 
And send it to the king ; he for the same 
Will send thee hither both thy sons alive, 
And that shall be the ransom for their fault. 

Titus. O gracious emperor ! O gentle Aaron ! 
Did ever raven sing so like a lark, 
That gives sweet tidings of the sun's uprise ! 
With all my heart I '11 send the emperor' 160 

My hand. 
Good Aaron, wilt thou help to chop it off ? 

Lucius. Stay, father ! for that noble hand of thine, 
That hath thrown down so many enemies, 
Shall not be sent ; my hand will serve the turn. 
My youth can better spare my blood than you, 
And therefore mine shall save my brothers' lives. 

Marcus. Which of your hands hath not defended 
Rome, 



84 Titus Andronicus [Act 111 

And rear'd aloft the bloody battle-axe, 

Writing destruction on the enemy's castle ? 170 

O, none of both but are of high desert ! 

My hand hath been but idle ; let it serve 

To ransom my two nephews from their death ; 

Then have I kept it to a worthy end. 

Aaron. Nay, come, agree whose hand shall go along, 
For fear they die before their pardon come. 

Marcus. My hand shall go. 

Lucius. By heaven, it shall not go ! 

Titus. Sirs, strive no more ; such wither'd herbs as 
these 
Are meet for plucking up, and therefore mine. 

Lucius. Sweet father, if I shall be thought thy son, 
Let me redeem my brothers both from death. 1S1 

Marcus. And, for our father's sake and mother's care, 
Now let me show a brother's love to thee. 

Titus. Agree between you ; I will spare my hand. 

Lucius. Then I '11 go fetch an axe. 

Marcus. But I will use the axe. 

[Exeunt Lucius a/id Marcus. 

Titus. Come hither, Aaron ; I '11 deceive them both : 
Lend me thy hand, and I will give thee mine. 

Aaron. [Aside] If that be call'd deceit, I will be 
honest, 
And never, whilst I live, deceive men so ; 190 

But I '11 deceive you in another sort, 
And that you '11 say ere half an hour pass. 

[Cuts off Titus's hand. 



Scene I] Titus Andronicus 85 

Re-enter Lucius and Marcus 

Titus. Now stay your strife ; what shall be is dis- 
patch 'd. — 
Good Aaron, give his majesty my hand. 
Tell him it was a hand that warded him 
From thousand dangers ; bid him bury it ; 
More hath it merited, — that let it have. 
As for my sons, say I account of them 
As jewels purchas'd at an easy price ; 
And yet dear too, because I bought mine own. 200 

Aaron. I go, Andronicus ; and for thy hand 
Look by and by to have thy sons with thee. — 
[Aside] Their heads, I mean. O, how this villany 
Doth fat me with the very thoughts of it ! 
Let fools do good and fair men call for grace, 
Aaron will have his soul black like his face. [Exit. 

Titus. O, here I lift this one hand up to heaven, 
And bow this feeble ruin to the earth ; 
If any power pities wretched tears, 
To that I call ! — [To Lavinia] What, wilt thou kneel 
with me ? 210 

Do, then, dear heart, for heaven shall hear our prayers ; 
Or with our sighs we '11 breathe the welkin dim, 
And stain the sun with fog, as sometime clouds 
When they do hug him in their melting bosoms. 

Marcus. O brother, speak with possibilities, 
And do not break into these deep extremes. 

Titus. Is not my sorrow deep, having no bottom ? 



86 Titus Andronicus [Act III 

Then be my passions bottomless with them. 

Marcus. But yet let reason govern thy lament. 

Titus. If there were reason for these miseries, 220 
Then into limits could I bind my woes. 
When heaven doth weep, doth not the earth o"erflow ? 
If the winds rage, doth not the sea wax mad, 
Threatening the welkin with his big-swoln face? 
And wilt thou have a reason for this coil ? 
I am the sea ; hark, how her sighs do blow ! 
She is the weeping welkin. I the earth : 
Then must my sea be moved with her sighs ; 
Then must my earth with her continual tears 
Become a deluge, overflowed and drown "d ; 230 

For why, my bowels cannot hide her woes, 
But like a drunkard must I vomit them. 
Then give me leave, for losers will have leave 
To ease their stomachs with their bitter tongues. 

Enter a Messenger, with ttvo heads ami a ha ml 

Messenger. Worthy Andronicus, ill art thou repaid 
For that good hand thou sent'st the emperor. 
Here are the heads of thy two noble sons, 
And here 's thy hand, in scorn to thee sent back, 
Thy griefs their sports, thy resolution mock'd ; 
That woe is me to think upon thy woes 240 

More than remembrance of my father's death. \Exit. 

Marcus. Now let hot /Etna cool in Sicily, 
And be my heart an ever-burning hell ! 
These miseries are more than may be borne. 



Scene ij Titus Andronicus 87 

To weep with them that weep doth ease some deal, 
But sorrow flouted at is double death. 

Lucius. Ah, that this sight should make so deep a 
wound, 
And yet detested life not shrink thereat ! 
That ever death should let life bear his name, 
Where life hath no more interest but to breathe ! 250 

\Lavinia kisses Titus. 

Marcus. Alas, poor heart, that kiss is comfortless 
As frozen water to a starved snake. 

Titus. When will this fearful slumber have an end ? 

Marcus. Now, farewell, flatter)' ! die, Andronicus ! 
Thou dost not slumber. See, thy two sons' heads, 
Thy warlike hand, thy mangled daughter here ; 
Thy other banish'd son, with this dear sight 
Struck pale and bloodless ; and thy brother, I, 
Even like a stony image, cold and numb. 
Ah, now no more will I control thy griefs. 260 

Rent off thy silver hair, thy other hand 
Gnawing with thy teeth, and be this dismal sight 
The closing up of our most wretched eyes. 
Now is a time to storm ; why art thou still ? 

Titus. Ha, ha, ha ! 

Marcus. Why dost thou laugh ? it fits not with this 
hour. 

Titus. Why, I have not another tear to shed ; 
Besides, this sorrow is an enemy, 
And would usurp upon my watery eyes, 
And make them blind with tributary tears. 270 



88 Titus Andronicus [Act in 

Then which way shall I find Revenge's cave ? 

For these two heads do seem to speak to me, 

And threat me I shall never come to bliss 

Till all these mischiefs be return'd again 

Even in their throats that have committed them. 

Come, let me see what task I have to do. — 

You heavy people, circle me about, 

That I may turn me to each one of you 

And swear unto my soul to right your wrongs. 

The vow is made. — Come, brother, take a head ; 2S0 

And in this hand the other will I bear. — 

Lavinia, thou shalt be employ'd in these things ; 

Bear thou my hand, sweet wench, between thy teeth. — 

As for thee, boy, go get thee from my sight ; 

Thou art an exile, and thou must not stay. 

Hie to the Goths, and raise an army there ; 

And, if you love me, as I think you do, 

Let's kiss and part, for we have much to do. 

\_Exeunt Titus, Marcus, and Lavinia. 
Lucius. Farewell, Andronicus, my noble father, 
The wofull'st man that ever liv'd in Rome ! — 290 

Farewell, proud Rome ! till Lucius come again 
He leaves his pledges dearer than his life. — 
Farewell, Lavinia, my noble sister ! 
O, would thou wert as thou tofore hast been ! 
But now nor Lucius nor Lavinia lives 
But in oblivion and hateful griefs. 
If Lucius live, he will requite your wrongs, 
And make proud Saturnine and his empress 



Scene ii] Titus Andronicus 89 

Beg at the gates, like Tarquin and his queen. 

Now will I to the Goths, and raise a power, 300 

To be reveng'd on Rome and Saturnine. [Exit. 

Scene II. A Room in Titus's House. A banquet set 
out 

Enter Titus, Marcus, Lavinia, and young Lucius, a 
Boy 

Titus. So, so ; now sit, and look you eat no more 
Than will preserve just so much strength in us 
As will revenge these bitter woes of ours. — 
Marcus, unknit that sorrow-wreathen knot; 
Thy niece and I, poor creatures, want our hands, 
And cannot passionate our tenfold grief 
With folded arms. This poor right hand of mine 
Is left to tyrannize upon my breast, 
Who, when my heart, all mad with misery, 
Beats in this hollow prison of my flesh, 10 

Then thus I thump it down. — 
[To Lavinia] Thou map of woe, that thus dost talk in 

signs ! 
When thy poor heart beats with outrageous beating, 
Thou canst not strike it thus to make it still. 
Wound it with sighing, girl, kill it with groans ; 
Or get some little knife between thy teeth, 
And just against thy heart make thou a hole, 
That all the tears that thy poor eyes let fall 
May run into that sink, and soaking in 



90 Titus Andronicus [Act III 

Drown the lamenting fool in sea-salt tears. 20 

Marcus. Fie, brother, fie ! teach her not thus to lay 

Such violent hands upon her tender life. 

Titus. How now ! has sorrow made thee dote 
already ? 

Why, [Marcus, no man should be mad but I. 

What violent hands can she lay on her life ? 

Ah, wherefore dost thou urge the name of hands ? 

To bid .-Eneas tell the tale twice o'er. 

How Troy was burnt and he made miserable ? 

O, handle not the theme, to talk of hands, 

Lest we remember still that we have none. — 30 

Fie, fie, how franticly I square my talk. 

As if we should forget we had no hands. 

If Marcus did not name the word of hands ! — 

Come, let 's fall to ; and, gentle girl, eat this. 

Here is no drink ! — Hark, Marcus, what she says; 

I can interpret all her martyr 'd signs ; 

She says she drinks no other drink but tears. 

Erew'd with her sorrow, mesh'd upon her cheeks. 

Speechless complainer, I will learn thy thought; 

In thy dumb action will I be as perfect 40 

As begging hermits in their holy prayers. 

Thou shalt not sigh, nor hold thy stumps to heaven, 

Xor wink, nor nod, nor kneel, nor make a sign, 

But I of these will wrest an alphabet 

And by still practice learn to know thy meaning. 

Boy. Good grandsire, leave these bitter deep laments ; 

Make my aunt merry with some pleasing tale. 



Scene II] Titus Andronicus 91 

Marcus. Alas, the tender boy. in passion mov'd, 
Doth weep to see his grandsire's heaviness. 

Titus. Peace, tender sapling ; thou art made of tears, 
And tears will quickly melt thy life away. — 51 

\_Marcus strikes the dish with a knife. 
What dost thou strike at, Marcus, with thy knife ? 

Marcus. At that that I have kill'd, my lord ; a fly. 

Titus. Out on thee, murtherer ! thou kill'st my heart ; 
Mine eyes are cloy'd with view of tyranny. 
A deed of death done on the innocent 
Becomes not Titus' brother ; get thee gone, 
I see thou art not for my company. 

Marcus. Alas, my lord, I have but kill'd a fly. 

Titus. But how if that fly had a father and mother ? 
How would he hang his slender gilded wings, 61 

And buzz lamenting doings in the air ! 
Poor harmless fly, 

That, with his pretty buzzing melody, 
Came here to make us merry ! and thou hast kill'd him. 

Marcus. Pardon me, sir, it was a black ill-favour 'd 
fly, 
Like to the empress' Moor ; therefore I kill'd him. 

Titus. 0.0,0! 
Then pardon me for reprehending thee, 
For thou hast done a charitable deed. 70 

Give me thy knife. I will insult on him ; 
Flattering myself as if it were the Moor 
Come hither purposely to poison me. — 
There 's for thvself, and that \s for Tamora. — 



92 Titus Andronicus [Act ill 

Ah, sirrah ! 

Yet, I think, we are not brought so low 

But that between us we can kill a fly 

That conies in likeness of a coal-black Moor. 

Marcus. Alas, poor man ! grief has so wrought on 
him, 
He takes false shadows for true substances. So 

Titus. Come, take away. — Lavinia, go with me; 
I '11 to thy closet, and go read with thee 
Sad stories chanced in the times of old. — 
Come, boy, and go with me ; thy sight is young, 
And thou shalt read when mine begin to dazzle. 

\Exeunt, 




ACT IV 



Scene I. Rome. Titus's Garden 



Enter young Lucius, and Lavinia running after him, 
and the boy flies from her, with books under his arm. 
Then enter Titus and Marcus 

Young Lucius. Help, grandsire, help ! my aunt 
Lavinia 
Follows me every where, I know not why. — 
Good uncle Marcus, see how swift she comes. — 
Alas, sweet aunt, I know not what you mean. 

Marcus. Stand by me, Lucius ; do not fear thine 

aunt. 
Titus. She loves thee, boy. too well to do thee 
harm. 

93 



94 Titus Andronicus [Act IV 

Young Lucius. Ay, when my father was in Rome she 

did. 
Marcus, What means my niece Lavinia by these 

signs ? 
Titus. Fear her not, Lucius ; somewhat doth she mean. 
See, Lucius, see how much she makes of thee ; 10 

Somewhither would she have thee go with her. 
Ah, boy, Cornelia never with more care 
Read to her sons than she hath read to thee 
Sweet poetry and Tully's Orator. 

Marcus. Canst thou not guess wherefore she plies 

thee thus ? 
Young Lucius. My lord, I know not, I, nor can I 
guess, 
Unless some fit or frenzy do possess her. 
For I have heard my grandsire say full oft. 
Extremity of griefs would make men mad, 
And I have read that Hecuba of Troy 20 

Ran mad for sorrow. That made me to fear, 
Although, my lord, I know my noble aunt 
Loves me as dear as e'er my mother did, 
And would not, but in fury, fright my vouth ; 
Which made me down to throw my books and fly, — 
Causeless, perhaps. — But pardon me, sweet aunt ; 
And. madam, if my uncle Marcus go, 
I will most willingly attend your ladyship. 
Marcus. Lucius. I will. 

\Lavinia turns over with her stumps the books 
which Lucius has let fail. 



Scene I] Titus Andronicus 95 

Titus. How now, Lavinia ! — Marcus, what means this ? 
Some book there is that she desires to see. — ■ 3 1 

Which is it, girl, of these ? — Open them, boy. — 
But thou art deeper read and better skill'd ; 
Come, and take choice of all my library, 
And so beguile thy sorrow till the heavens 
Reveal the damn'd contriver of this deed. — 
Why lifts she up her arms in sequence thus ? 

Marcus. I think she means that there was more than 
one 
Confederate in the fact ; ay, more there was, 
Or else to heaven she heaves them for revenge. 40 

Titus. Lucius, what book is that she tosseth so ? 

Young Lucius. Grandsire, 't is Ovid's Metamorpho- 
ses ; 
My mother gave it me. 

Marcus. For love of her that 's gone, 

Perhaps she cull'd it from among the rest. 

Titus. Soft ! see how busily she turns the leaves ! 

^Helping her. 
What would she find? — Lavinia, shall I read? 
This is the tragic tale of Philomel 
And treats of Tereus' treason and his rape ; 
And rape, I fear, was root of thine annoy. 

Marcus. See, brother, see ; note how she quotes the 
leaves. 50 

Titus. Lavinia, wert thou thus surpris'd, sweet girl, 
Ravish'd and wrong'd, as Philomela was, 
Forc'd in the ruthless, vast, and gloomy woods? — 



96 Titus Andronicus [Act IV 

See, see ! 

Ay, such a place there is, where we did hunt — 
O, had we never, never hunted there ! — 
Pattern 'd by that the poet here describes, 
By nature made for murthers and for rapes. 

Marcus. O, why should nature build so foul a den, 
Unless the gods delight in tragedies ? 60 

Titus. Give signs, sweet girl, for here are none but 
friends, 
What Roman lord it was durst do the deed ; 
Or slunk not Saturnine, as Tarquin erst, 
That left the camp to sin in Lucrece' bed ? 

Marcus. Sit down, sweet niece; — brother, sit down 
by me. — 
Apollo, Pallas, Jove, or Mercury, 
Inspire me, that I may this treason find ! — 
My lord, look here : — look here, Lavinia. 
This sandy plot is plain ; guide, if thou canst, 
This after me, when I have writ my name 70 

Without the help of any hand at all. — 

[He writes his name with his staff, and guides 
it -with feet and mouth. 
Curs'd be that heart that forc'd us to this shift! — 
Write thou, good niece, and here display at last 
What God will have cliscover'd for revenge. 
Heaven guide thy pen to print thy sorrows plain, 
That we may know the traitors and the truth ! 

[She takes the staff in her mouth, and guides it 
with her stumps, and writes. 



Scene I] Titus Andronicus 97 

Titus. O, do ye read, my lord, what she hath writ ? 
• Stuprum. Chiron. Demetrius.' 

Marcus. What, what ! the lustful sons of Tamora 
Performers of this heinous, bloody deed ? So 

Titus. Magne dominator poli, 
Tarn lentus audis scelera ? tarn lentus vides ? 

Marcus. O, calm thee, gentle lord, although I know 
There is enough written upon this earth 
To stir a mutiny in the mildest thoughts 
And arm the minds of infants to exclaims. 
My lord, kneel down with me ; — Lavinia, kneel; — 
And kneel, sweet boy, the Roman Hector's hope ; 
And swear with me — as, with the woful fere 
And father of that chaste dishonour'd dame, 90 

Lord Junius Brutus sware for Lucrece' rape — 
That we will prosecute by good advice 
Mortal revenge upon these traitorous Goths, 
And see their blood, or die with this reproach. 

Titus. 'T is sure enough, an you knew how. 
But if you hunt these bear-whelps, then beware ; 
The dam will wake, and, if she wind you once, 
She 's with the lion deeply still in league, 
And lulls him whilst she playeth on her back. 
And when he sleeps will she do what she list. 100 

You are a young huntsman, Marcus, let it alone ; 
And, come, I will go get a leaf of brass, 
And with a gad of steel will write these words, 
And lay it by ; the angry northern wind 
Will blow these sands, like Sibyl's leaves, abroad, 

TITUS ANDRONICUS — 7 



98 Titus Andronicus [Act IV 

And where 's your lesson, then ? — Boy, what say you ? 

Young Lucius. I say, my lord, that if I were a man, 
Their mother's heel-chamber should not be safe 
For these bad bondmen to the yoke of Rome. 

Marcus. Ay, that 's my boy ! thy father hath full 
oft 110 

For his ungrateful country done the like. 

Young Lucius. And, uncle, so will I an if I live. 

Titus. Come, go with me into mine armoury. 
Lucius, I '11 fit thee ; and withal my boy 
Shall carry from me to the empress' sons 
Presents that I intend to send them both. 
Come, come ; thou "It do thy message, wilt thou not ? 

You?ig Lucius. Ay, with my dagger in their bosoms, 
grandsire. 

Titus. No, boy, not so ; I '11 teach thee another 
course. — 
Lavinia, come. — Marcus, look to my house. 120 

Lucius and I "11 go brave it at the court ; 
Ay, marry, will we, sir, and we '11 be waited on. 

[Exeunt Titus, Lavinia, and young Lucius. 

Marcus. O heavens, can you hear a good man groan, 
And not relent, or not compassion him ? — 
Marcus, attend him in his ecstasy 
That hath more scars of sorrow in his heart 
Than foemen's marks upon his batter'd shield, 
but yet so just that he will not revenge. — 
Revenge, ye heavens, for old Andronicus ! [Exit. 



Scene ii] Titus Andronicus 99 

Scene II. The Same. A Room in the Palace 

Enter, from one side, Aaron, Demetrius, and Chiron ; 
from the other side, young Lucius, and an Attendant, 
ivith a bundle of weapons, and verses writ upon them 

Chiron. Demetrius, here 's the son of Lucius ; 
He hath some message to deliver us. 

Aaron. Ay, some mad message from his mad grand- 
father. 
Young Lucius. My lords, with all the humbleness I 
may, 
I greet your honours from Andronicus. — 
[Aside] And pray the Roman gods confound you both ! 
Demetrius. Gramercy, lovely Lucius ; what 's the 

news ? 
Young Lucius. [Aside] That you are both decipher'd, 
that 's the news, 
For villains marked with rape. — May it please you. 
My grandsire, well advis'd, hath sent by me 10 

The goodliest weapons of his armoury 
To gratify your honourable youth, 
The hope of Rome ; for so he bade me say, 
And so I do, and with his gifts present 
Your lordships, that, whenever you have need, 
You may be armed and appointed well. 
And so I leave you both. — [Aside] like bloody villains. 
[Exeunt young Lucius and Attendant. 
Demetrius. What 's here ? A scroll, and written 
round about ? 



too Titus Andronicus [Act IV 

Let 's see : 

[Reads] ' Integer vita, scelerisque purus, 20 

Non eget Mauri jaculis nee areu.' 

Chiron. (), 't is a verse in Horace, I know it well, 
I read it in the grammar long ago. 

Aaron. Ay, just a verse in Horace ; right, you have 
it. — 
[Aside] Now, what a thing it is to be an ass ! 
Here 's no sound jest ! the old man hath found their 

guilt, 
And sends them weapons wrapp'd about with lines 
That wound, beyond their feeling, to the quick. 
But were our witty empress well afoot, 
She would applaud Andronicus' conceit ; 30 

But let her rest in her unrest a while. — 
And now, young lords, was 't not a happy star 
Led us to Rome, strangers, and more than so, 
Captives, to be advanced to this height ? 
It did me good, before the palace gate 
To brave the tribune in his brother's hearing. 

Demetrius. But me more good, to see so great a lord 
Basely insinuate and send us gifts. 

Aaron. Had he not reason, Lord Demetrius ? 
Did you not use his daughter very friendly? 40 

Demetrius. I would we had a thousand Roman dames 
At such a bay. by turn to serve our lust. 

Chiron. A charitable wish and full of love. 

Aaron. Here lacks but your mother for to say 
amen. 



Scene II] Titus Andronicus 101 

Chiron. And that would she for twenty thousand 

more. 
Demetrius. Come, let us go and pray to all the gods 
For our beloved mother in her pains. 

Aaron. [Aside] Pray to the devils ; the gods have 

given us over. \Trumpets sound within. 

Demetrius. Why do the emperor's trumpets flourish 

thus ? 
Chiron. Belike, for joy the emperor hath a son. 50 
Demetrius. Soft ! who comes here ? 

Enter a Xurse, with a blackamoor Child in her arms 

Nurse. Good morrow, lords ; 

O, tell me, did you see Aaron the Moor ? 

Aaron. Well, more or less, or ne'er a whit at all, 
Here Aaron is ; and what with Aaron now ? 

Nurse. O gentle Aaron, we are all undone ! 
Now help, or woe betide thee evermore ! 

Aaron. Why, what a caterwauling dost thou keep ! 
What dost thou wrap and fumble in thine arms ? 

Nurse. O, that which I would hide from heaven's 
eye, 
Our empress' shame and stately Rome's disgrace ! — 60 
She is deliver'd, lords, she is deliver'd. 

Aaron. To whom ? 

Nurse. I mean, she is brought a-bed. 

Aaron. Well, God give her good rest! What hath 
he sent her ? 

Nurse. A devil. 



io2 Titus Andronicus [Act iv 

Aaron. Why, then she is the devil's dam ; a joyful 
issue ! 

Nurse. A joyless, dismal, black, and sorrowful issue. 
Here is the babe, as loathsome as a toad 
Amongst the fairest breeders of our clime ; 
The empress sends it thee, thy stamp, thy seal, 
And bidsthee christen it with thy dagger's point. 70 

Aaron. Zounds, ye whore ! is black so base a hue ? — 
Sweet blowse, you are a beauteous blossom, sure. 

Demetrius. Villain, what hast thou done? 

Aaron. That which thou canst not undo. 

Chiron. Thou hast undone our mother. 

Aaron. Villain, I have done thy mother. 

Demetrius. And therein, hellish dog, thou hast un- 
done. 
Woe to her chance, and damn'd her loathed choice ! 
Accurs'd the offspring of so foul a fiend ! 

Chiron. It shall not live. So 

Aaron. It shall not die. 

Nurse. Aaron, it must ; the mother wills it so. 

Aaron. What, must it, nurse ? then let no man but I 
Do execution on my flesh and blood. 

Demetrius. I '11 broach the tadpole on my rapier's 
point. — 
Nurse, give it me ; my sword shall soon dispatch it. 

Aaron. Sooner this sword shall plough thy bowels up. 
\Takes the Child from the Nurse, and draws. 
Stay, murtherous villains ! will you kill your brother? 
Now, by the burning tapers of the sky 



Scene ii] Titus Andronicus 10^ 

That shone so brightly when this boy was got, 90 

lie dies upon my scimitar's sharp point 

That touches this my first-born son and heir ! 

I tell you, younglings, not Enceladus, 

With all his threatening band of Typhon's brood, 

Nor great Alcides, nor the god of war, 

Shall seize this prey out of his father's hands. 

What, what, ye sanguine, shallow-hearted boys ! 

Ye white-lim'd walls ! ye alehouse painted signs ! 

Coal-black is better than another hue, 

In that it scorns to bear another hue ; 100 

For all the water in the ocean 

Can never turn the swan's black legs to white, 

Although she lave them hourly in the flood. 

Tell the empress from me, I am of age 

To keep mine own, excuse it how she can. 

Demetrius. Wilt thou betray thy noble mistress thus ? 

Aaron. My mistress is my mistress ; this myself, 
The vigour and the picture of my youth. 
This before all the world do I prefer ; 
This maugre all the world will I keep safe, no 

Or some of you shall smoke for it in Rome. 

Demetrius. By this our mother is for ever sham'd. 

Chiron. Rome will despise her for this foul escape. 

Nurse. The emperor, in his rage, will doom her 
death. 

Chiron. I blush to think upon this ignomy. 

Aaron. Why, there 's the privilege your beauty 
bears ; 



104 Titus Andronicus [Act IV 

Fie, treacherous hue, that will betray with blushing 

The close enacts and counsels of the heart ! 

Here 's a young lad fram'd of another leer. 

Look, how the black slave smiles upon the father, 120 

As who should say, ' Old lad, I am thine own.' 

He is your brother, lords, sensibly fed 

Of that self blood that first gave life to you, 

And from that womb where you imprison 'd were 

He is enfranchised and come to light. 

Nay, he is your brother by the surer side, 

Although my seal be stamped in his face. 

Nurse. Aaron, what shall I say unto the empress? 

Demetrius. Advise thee, Aaron, what is to be done, 
And we will all subscribe to thy advice ; 130 

Save thou the child, so we may all be safe. 

Aaron. Then sit we down, and let us all consult. 
My son and I will have the wind of you. 
Keep there ; now talk at pleasure of your safety. 

[They sit. 

Demetrius. How many women saw this child of his ? 

Aaron. Why, so, brave lords ! when we join in league, 
I am a lamb ; but if you brave the Moor, 
The chafed boar, the mountain lioness, 
The ocean swells not so as Aaron storms. — 
But say, again, how r many saw the child? 140 

Nurse. Cornelia the midwife and myself; 
And no one else but the deliverd empress. 

Aaron. The empress, the midwife, and yourself; 
Two may keep counsel when the third 's away. 



Scene ii] Titus Andronicus 105 

Go to the empress, tell her this I said. 

\_He kills the Nurse. 
Weke, weke ! so cries a pig prepar'd to the spit. 

Demetrius. What mean'st thou, Aaron ? wherefore 
didst thou this ? 

Aaron. O Lord, sir, 't is a deed of policy,, 
Shall she live to betray this guilt of ours, 
A long-tongued babbling gossip ? no, lords, no ; 150 

And now be it known to you my full intent. 
Not far, one Muli lives, my countryman ; 
His wife but yesternight was brought to bed ; 
His child is like to her, fair as you are. 
Go pack with him, and give the mother gold. 
And tell them both the circumstance of all ; 
And how by this their child shall be advane'd, 
And be received for the emperor's heir, 
And substituted in the place of mine, 
To calm this tempest whirling in the court; 160 

And let the emperor dandle him for his own. 
Hark ye, lords ; ye see I have given her physic, 

[Pointing to the Nurse. 
And you must needs bestow her funeral ; 
The fields are near, and you are gallant grooms. 
This done, see that you take no longer clays, 
But send the midwife presently to me. 
The midwife and the nurse well made away, 
Then let the ladies tattle what they please. 

Chiron. Aaron, I see thou wilt not trust the air 
With secrets. 



106 Titus Andronicus [Act IV 

Demetrius. For this care of Tamora, 170 

Herself and hers are highly bound to thee. 

\Exeunt Demetrius and Chiron bearing off the 
Nurse's body. 

Aaron. Now to the Goths, as swift as swallow flies, 
There to dispose this treasure in mine arms, 
And secretly to greet the empress' friends. — 
Come on, you thick-lipp'd slave, I '11 bear you hence, 
For it is you that puts us to our shifts ; 
I '11 make you feed on berries and on roots, 
And feast on curds and whey, and suck the goat, 
And cabin in a cave, and bring you up 1-9 

To be a warrior and command a camp. \Exit. 

Scene IIF The Same. A Public Place 

Enter Titus, bearing arrows, with letters at the ends of 
them ; with him, Marcus, young Lucius, Publius, 
Sempronius, Caius, and other Gentlemen, with bows 

Titus. Come, Marcus, come; — kinsmen, this is the 
way. — 
Sir boy, now let me see your archery ; 
Look ye draw home enough, and 'tis there straight. — 
Terras Astrasa reliquit ; 

Be you remember'd, Marcus, she 's gone, she 's fled. — 
Sirs, take you to your tools. You, cousins, shall 
Go sound the ocean, and cast your nets ; 
Happily you may catch her in the sea, 
Yet there 's as little justice as at land. — 



Scene Hi] Titus Andronicus 107 

Xo ; Publius and Sempronius, you must do it ; 10 

'T is you must dig with mattock and with spade, 

And pierce the inmost centre of the earth. 

Then, when you come to Pluto's region, 

I pray you, deliver him this petition ; 

Tell him, it is for justice and for aid, 

And that it comes from old Andronicus, 

Shaken with sorrows in ungrateful Rome. — 

Ah, Rome ! Well, well ; I made thee miserable 

What time I threw the people's suffrages 

On him that thus cloth tyrannize o'er me. — 20 

Go, get you gone ; and pray be careful all, 

And leave you not a man-of-war unsearch'd. 

This wicked emperor may have shipp'd her hence, 

And, kinsmen, then we may go pipe for justice. 

Marcus. O Publius, is not this a heavy case, 
To see thy noble uncle thus distract? 

Publius. Therefore, my lord, it highly us concerns 
By day and night to attend him carefully, 
And feed his humour kindly as we may, 
Till time beget some careful remedy. 30 

Marcus. Kinsmen, his sorrows are past remedy. 
Join with the Goths ; and with revengeful war 
Take wreak on Rome for this ingratitude, 
And vengeance on the traitor Saturnine. 

Titus. Publius, how now ! how now, my masters ! 
What, have you met with her ? 

Publius. Xo, my good lord, but Pluto sends you 
word, 



io8 Titus Andronicus [Act IV 

If you will have Revenge from hell, you shall. 
Marry, for Justice, she is so employ "d, 
He thinks, with Jove in heaven, or somewhere else, 40 
So that perforce you must needs stay a time. 

Titus. He doth me wrong to feed me with delays. 
I '11 dive into the burning lake below 
And pull her out of Acheron by the heels. — 
Marcus, we are but shrubs, no cedars we, 
No big-bon'd men fram'd of the Cyclops' size, 
But metal, Marcus, steel to the very back, 
Yet wrung with wrongs more than our backs can bear ; 
And, sith there 's no justice in earth nor hell, 
We will solicit heaven and move the gods 50 

To send down Justice for to wreak our wrongs. — 
Come, to this gear. — - You are a good archer, Marcus ; 

[He gives them the arrows. 
' Ad Jovemf that 's for you ; here, ' Ad Apoilinem ; ' 
' Ad Martem? that 's for myself. — 
Here, boy, to Pallas ; here, to Mercury ; 
To Saturn, Caius, not to Saturnine ; 
You were as good to shoot against the wind. 
To it, boy ! — Marcus, loose when I bid. — 
Of my word, I have written to effect ; 
There 's not a god left unsolicited. 60 

Marcus. Kinsmen, shoot all your shafts into the 
court ; 
We will afflict the emperor in his pride. 

Titus. Now; masters, draw. — [They shoot.'] O, well 
said, Lucius ! 



Scene III] Titus Andronicus 109 

Good boy, in Virgo's lap ; give it Pallas. 

Marcus. My lord, I aim a mile beyond the moon ; 
Your letter is with Jupiter by this. 

Titus. Ha, ha ! 
Publius, Publius, what hast thou done ? 
See, see, thou hast shot off one of Taurus' horns. 

Marcus. This was the sport, my lord; when Publius 
shot. 70 

The Bull, being gall'd, gave Aries such a knock 
That down fell both the Ram's horns in the court, 
And who should find them but the empress' villain ? 
She laugh'd, and told the Moor he should not choose 
But give them to his master for a present. 

Titus. Why, there it goes ! God give his lordship 
joy ! — 

Enter a Clown, with a basket, and two pigeons in it 

News, news from heaven ! Marcus, the post is come. — 

Sirrah, what tidings? have you any letters? 

Shall I have justice ? what says Jupiter ? 79 

Clown. O, the gibbet-maker ! he says that he hath 
taken them down again, for the man must not be 
hanged till the next week. 

Titus. But what says Jupiter, 1 ask thee ? 

Clown. Alas, sir, I know not Jupiter ; I never 
drank with him in all my life. 

Titus. Why, villain, art not thou the carrier ? 

down. Ay, of my pigeons, sir ; nothing else. 

Titus. Why, didst thou not come from heaven ? 



iio Titus Andronicus [Act IV 

Clown. From heaven ! alas, sir, I never came 
there ; God forbid I should be so bold to press to 
heaven in my young days. Why, I am going with 
my pigeons to the tribunal plebs, to take up a mat- 
ter of brawl betwixt my uncle and one of the em- 
perial's men. 94 

Marcus. Why, sir, that is as fit as can be to serve 
for your oration ; and let him deliver the pigeons to 
the emperor from you. 

Titus. Tell me, can you deliver an oration to the 
emperor with a grace ? 

Clozvn. Nay, truly, sir, I could never say grace in 
all my life. 101 

Titus. Sirrah, come hither. Make no more ado, 
But give your pigeons to the emperor ; 
By me thou shalt have justice at his hands. 
Hold, hold ; meanwhile here 's money for thy charges. — 
Give me pen and ink. — Sirrah, can you with a 
grace deliver a supplication ? 

Clown. Ay, sir. 

Titus. Then here is a supplication for you. And 
when you come to him, at the first approach you 
must kneel, then kiss his foot, then deliver up your 
pigeons, and then look for your reward. I '11 be at 
hand, sir ; see you do it bravely. 113 

Clozvn. I warrant you, sir, let me alone. 

Titus. Sirrah, hast thou a knife ? come, let me see 
it.— 
Here, Marcus, fold it in the oration, 



Scene IV] Titus Andronicus I I I 

For thou hast made it like an humble suppliant. — 
And when thou hast given it the emperor, 
Knock at my door and tell me what he says. 

Clown. God be with you, sir ; I will. 120 

Titus. Come, Marcus, let us go. — Publius, follow me. 

\Exeunt. 

Scene IV. The Same. Before the Palace 

Enter Saturninus, Tamora, Demetrius, Chiron, 
Lords, and others ; Saturninus with the arrows in 
his hand that Titus shot 

Saturninus. Why, lords, what wrongs are these ! was 
ever seen 
An emperor in Rome thus overborne, 
Troubled, confronted thus, and, for the extent 
Of equal justice, us'd in such contempt? 
My lords, you know, as know the mightful gods, 
However these disturbers of our peace 
Buzz in the people's ears, there nought hath pass'd 
But even with law against the wilful sons 
Of old Andronicus. And what an if 
His sorrows have so overwhelm'd his wits, 10 

Shall we be thus afflicted in his wreaks, 
His fits, his frenzy, and his bitterness ? 
And now he writes to heaven for his redress. 
See, here 's to Jove, and this to Mercury ; 
This to Apollo, this to the god of war, — 
Sweet scrolls to fly about the streets of Rome ! 



ii2 Titus Andronicus [Act IV 

What 's this but libelling against the senate, 

And blazoning our injustice every where ? 

A goodly humour, is it not, my lords ? 

As who would say, in Rome no justice were. 20 

But if I live, his feigned ecstasies 

Shall be no shelter to these outrages ; 

But he and his shall know that justice lives 

In Saturninus' health, whom, if she sleep, 

He '11 so awake as she in fury shall 

Cut off the proud'st conspirator that lives. 

Tamora. My gracious lord, my lovely Saturnine, 
Lord of my life, commander of my thoughts, 
Calm thee, and bear the faults of Titus' age, 
The effects of sorrow for his valiant sons, 30 

Whose loss hath pierc'd him deep and scarr'd his 

heart ; 
And rather comfort his distressed plight 
Than prosecute the meanest or the best 
For these contempts. — \Aside~\ Why, thus it shall 

become 
High-witted Tamora to gloze with all. — 
But, Titus, I have touch'd thee to the quick, 
Thy life-blood out ; if Aaron now be wise, 
Then is all safe, the anchor in the port. — 

Enter Clown 

How now, good fellow ! wouldst thou speak with us ? 
Clown. Yea, forsooth, an your mistership be em 
perial. 40 



Scene iv] Titus Andronicus 113 

Tamora. Empress I am, but yonder sits the emperor. 

Clown. 'T is he. — God and Saint Stephen give 
you godden ; I have brought you a letter and a couple 
of pigeons here. [Saturninus reads the letter. 

Saturninus. Go, take him away, and hang him pres- 
ently. 

Clown. How much money must I have ? 

Tamora. Come, sirrah, you must be hanged. 

Clown. Hanged ! by 'r lady, then I have brought 
up a neck to a fair end. [Exit, guarded. 

Saturninus. Despiteful and intolerable wrongs ! 50 
Shall 1 endure this monstrous villany ? 
I know from whence this same device proceeds. 
May this be borne ? — as if his traitorous sons, 
That died by law for murther of our brother, 
Have by my means been butcher d wrongfully ! — 
Go, drag the villain hither by the hair ; 
Nor age nor honour shall shape privilege. — 
For this proud mock I '11 be thy slaughter-man, 
Sly frantic wretch, that holp'st to make me great, 
In hope thyself should govern Rome and me. — 60 

Enter ^Emilius 

What news with thee, ^Emilius ? 

yEmilius. Arm, arm, my lord ! Rome never had 
more cause. 
The Goths have gather'd head, and with a power 
Of high-resolved men, bent to the spoil, 
They hither march amain under conduct 

TITUS ANDROMCL'S — 8 



114 Titus Andronicus [Act IV 

Of Lucius, son to old Andronicus, 

Who threats, in course of this revenge, to do 

As much as ever Coriolanus did. 

Saturninus. Is warlike Lucius general of the Goths ? 
These tidings nip me, and I hang the head 70 

As flowers with frost or grass beat down with storms. 
Ay, now begin our sorrows to approach. 
'T is he the common people love so much ; 
Myself hath often overheard them say, 
When I have walked like a private man, 
That Lucius' banishment was wrongfully, 
And they have wish'd that Lucius were their emperor. 

Tamora. Why should you fear ? is not your city 
strong ? 

Saturninus. Ay, but the citizens favour Lucius, 
And will revolt from me to succour him. 80 

Tamora. King, be thy thoughts imperious, like thy 
name. 
Is the sun dimm'd, that gnats do fly in it? 
The eagle suffers little birds to sing 
And is not careful what they mean thereby, 
Knowing that with the shadow of his wings 
He can at pleasure stint their melody ; 
Even so mayst thou the giddy men of Rome. 
Then cheer thy spirit ; for know, thou emperor, 
I will enchant the old Andronicus 

With words more sweet, and yet more dangerous, 90 
Than baits to fish or honey-stalks to sheep, 
Whenas the one is wounded with the bait, 



Scene IV] Titus Andronicus 1 1 5 

The other rotted with delicious feed. 

Saturninus. But he will not entreat his son for us. 

Tamora. If Tamora entreat him, then he will ; 
For I can smooth and fill his aged ear 
With golden promises, that, were his heart 
Almost impregnable, his old ears deaf, 
Yet should both ear and heart obey my tongue. — 
[To AZmilius\ Go thou before, be our ambassador ; 100 
Say that the emperor requests a parley 
Of warlike Lucius, and appoint the meeting 
Even at his father's house, the old Andronicus. 

Saturninus. yLmilius, do this message honourably ; 
And if he stand on hostage for his safety, 
Bid him demand what pledge will please him best. 

sEmilius. Your bidding shall I do effectually. [Exit. 

Tamora. Now will I to that old Andronicus, 
And temper him with all the art I have, 
To pluck proud Lucius from the warlike Goths. — no 
And now, sweet emperor, be blithe again, 
And bury all thy fear in my devices. 

Saturninus. Then go successantly, and plead to him. 

[Exeunt. 




... ; < yr^r; 

Aaron and Child 



ACT V 

SCENE I. Plains near Rome 

Enter Lucius with an army of Goths, with drum and 
colours 

Lucius. Approved warriors, and my faithful friends, 
I have received letters from great Rome 
Which signify what hate they bear their emperor 
And how desirous of our sight they are. 
Therefore, great lords, be, as your titles witness, 
Imperious and impatient of your wrongs ; 

116 



Scene I] Titus Andronicus i t 7 

And wherein Rome hath done you any scath, 
Let him make treble satisfaction. 

1 Goth. Brave slip, sprung from the great Andron- 

icus, 
Whose name was once our terror, now our comfort, 10 
Whose high exploits and honourable deeds 
Ingrateful Rome requites with foul contempt, 
Be bold in us ; we '11 follow where thou lead'st, 
Like stinging bees in hottest summer's day 
Led by their master to the flowered fields, 
And be aveng'd on cursed Tamora. 

All the Goths. And as he saith, so say we all with him. 

Lucius. I humbly thank him, and I thank you all. — 
But who comes here, led by a lusty Goth ? 

Enter a Goth, leading Aaron with his Child in his arm 

2 Goth. Renowned Lucius, from our troops I 

stray'd 20 

To gaze upon a ruinous monastery ; 
And, as I earnestly did fix mine eye 
Upon the wasted building, suddenly 
I heard a child cry underneath a wall. 
I made unto the noise, when soon I heard 
The crying babe controll'd with this discourse : 
' Beace, tawny slave, half me and half thy dam ! 
Did not thy hue bewray whose brat thou art, 
Had nature lent thee but thy mother's look, 
Villain, thou mightst have been an emperor ; 33 

But where the bull and cow are both milk-white, 



1 1 8 Titus Andronicus [Act V 

They never do beget a coal-black calf. 

Peace, villain, peace ! ' — even thus he rates the babe, — 

' For I must bear thee to a trusty Goth, 

Who, when he knows thou art the empress' babe, 

Will hold thee dearly for thy mother's sake.' 

With this, my weapon drawn, I rush'd upon him, 

Surpris'd him suddenly, and brought him hither, 

To use as you think needful of the man. 

Lucius. O worthy Goth, this is the incarnate devil 
That robb'd Andronicus of his good hand ; 41 

This is the pearl that pleas'd your empress' eye, 
And here 's the base fruit of his burning lust. — 
Say, wall-eyed slave, whither wouldst thou convey 
This growing image of thy fiend-like face ? 
Why dost not speak? what, deaf? not a word ? — 
A halter, soldiers ! hang him on this tree, 
And by his side his fruit of bastardy. 

Aaron. Touch not the boy ; he is of royal blood. 

Lucius. Too like the sire for ever being good. — 50 
First hang the child, that he may see it sprawl ; 
A sight to vex the father's soul withal. — 
Get me a ladder. 

\_A ladder brought, which Aaron is made to ascend. 

Aaron. Lucius, save the child, 

And bear it from me to the empress 
If thou do this, I '11 show thee wondrous things, 
That highly may advantage thee to hear; 
If thou wilt not, befall what may befall, 
I '11 speak no more but ' Vengeance rot you all ! ' 



Scene I] Titus Andronicus 119 

Lucius. Say on ; and if it please me which thou 
speak'st, 
Thy child shall live, and I will see it nourish'd. 60 

Aaron. An if it please thee ! why. assure thee, Lu- 
cius, 
'T will vex thy soul to hear what I shall speak ; 
For I must talk of murthers, rapes, and massacres, 
Acts of black night, abominable deeds, 
Complots of mischief, treason, villanies 
Ruthful to hear, yet piteously perform 'd ; 
And this shall all be buried in my death, 
Unless thou swear to me my child shall live. 

Lucius. Tell on thy mind ; I say thy child shall 
live. 

Aaron. Swear that he shall, and then I will begin. 

Lucius. Who should I swear by ? thou believ'st no 
god ; 71 

That granted, how canst thou believe an oath ? 

Aaron. What if I do not? — as, indeed, I do not; 
Yet, for I know thou art religious, 
And hast a thing within thee called conscience, 
With twenty popish tricks and ceremonies 
Which I have seen thee careful to observe, 
Therefore I urge thy oath ; for that I know 
An idiot holds his bauble for a god 
And keeps the oath which by that god he swears, So 
To that I "11 urge him. Therefore thou shalt vow 
By that same god, what god soe'er it be, 
That thou ador'st and hast in reverence, 



1 20 Titus Andronicus [Act V 

To save my boy, to nourish and bring him up, 
Or else I will discover nought to thee. 

Lucius. Even by my god I swear to thee I will. 

Aaron. First know thou, I begot him on the empress. 

Lucius, O most insatiate and luxurious woman ! 

Aaron. Tut, Lucius, this was but a deed of charity 
To that which thou shalt hear of me anon. 90 

'T was her two sons that murther'd Bassianus ; 
They cut thy sister's tongue and ravish'd her 
And cut her hands and trimm'd her as thou saw'st. 

Lucius. O detestable villain ! call'st thou that trim- 
ming ? 

Aaron. Why, she was wash'd and cut and trimm'd, 
and 't was 
Trim sport for them that had the doing of it. 

Lucius. O barbarous, beastly villains, like thyself! 

Aaron. Indeed, I was their tutor to instruct them. 
That codding spirit had they from their mother, 
As sure a card as ever won the set ; 100 

That bloody mind, I think, they learn'd of me, 
As true a dog as ever fought at head. 
Well, let my deeds be witness of my worth. 
I train'd thy brethren to that guileful hole 
Where the dead corpse of Bassianus lay ; 
I wrote the letter that thy father found 
And hid the gold within the letter mention 'd. 
Confederate with the queen and her two sons ; 
And what not done, that thou hast cause to rue, 
Wherein I had no stroke of mischief in it? no 



Scene I] Titus Andronicus 121 

I play'd the cheater for thy father's hand, 

And, when I had it, drew myself apart 

And almost broke my heart with extreme laughter ; 

I pry'd me through the crevice of a wall 

When for his hand he had his two sons' heads, 

Beheld his tears and laugh'd so heartily 

That both mine eyes were rainy like to his ; 

And when I told the empress of this sport 

She swooned almost at my pleasing tale, 

And for my tidings gave me twenty kisses, 120 

1 Goth. What, canst thou say all this, and never 
blush ? 

Aaron. Ay, like a black dog, as the saying is. 

Lucius. Art thou not sorry for these heinous deeds ? 

Aaron. Ay, that I had not done a thousand more. 
Even now I curse the day — and yet, I think, 
Few come within the compass of my curse — 
Wherein I did not some notorious ill, 
As kill a man, or else devise his death, 
Ravish a maid, or plot the way to do it, 
Accuse some innocent and forswear myself, 130 

Set deadly enmity between two friends, 
Make poor men's cattle break their necks, 
Set fire on barns and hay-stacks in the night, 
And bid the owners quench them with their tears. 
Oft have I digg'd up dead men from their graves, 
And set them upright at their dear friends' doors, 
Even when their sorrow almost was forgot ; 
And on their skins, as on the bark of trees, 



122 Titus Andronicus [Act V 

Have with my knife carved in Roman letters, 

'Let not your sorrow die, though I am dead.' 140 

Tut, I have done a thousand dreadful things 

As willingly as one would kill a fly, 

And nothing grieves me heartily indeed 

But that I cannot do ten thousand more. 

Lucius. Bring down the devil ; for he must not die 
So sweet a death as hanging presently. 

Aaron. If there be devils, would I were a devil, 
To live and burn in everlasting tire, 
So I might have your company in hell, 
But to torment you with my bitter tongue ! 150 

Lucius. Sirs, stop his mouth, and let him speak no 
more. 

Enter a Goth 

3 Goth. My lord, there is a messenger from Rome 
Desires to be admitted to your presence. 
Lucius. Let him come near. — 

Enter .Kmilius 

Welcome, vLmilius : what 's the news from Rome ? 

/Einilius. Lord Lucius, and you princes of the Goths, 
The Roman emperor greets you all by me ; 
And, for he understands you are in arms, 
lie craves a parley at your father's house, 
Willing you to demand your hostages, 160 

And they shall be immediately deliver'd. 

1 Goth. What says our general ? 

Lucius. zLmilius, let the emperor give his pledges 



Scene II] Titus Andronicus 123 

Unto my father and my uncle Marcus, 

And we will come. — March away. \_Exeunt. 

Scene II. Rome. Before Titus's House 

Enter Tamora, Demetrius, and Chiron, disguised 

Tamora. Thus, in this strange and sad habiliment, 
I will encounter with Andronicus, 
And say I am Revenge, sent from below 
To join with him and right his heinous wrongs. — 
Knock at his study, where, they say, he keeps, 
To ruminate strange plots of dire revenge, 
Tell him Revenge is come to join with him 
And work confusion on his enemies. \_lliey knock. 

Enter Titus, above 

Titus. Who doth molest my contemplation ? 
Is it your trick to make me ope the door, I0 

That so my sad decrees may rly away 
And all my study be to no effect ? 
You are deceiv'd ; for what I mean to do 
See here in bloody lines I have set down, 
And what is written shall be executed. 

Tamora. Titus, I am come to talk with thee. 

Titus. No, not a word ; how can I grace my talk, 
Wanting a hand to give it action ? 
Thou hast the odds of me ; therefore no more. 

Tamora. If thou didst know me, thou wouldst talk 
with me. 20 



124 Titus Andronicus [Act v 

Titus. I am not mad ; I know thee well enough. 
Witness this wretched stump, witness these crimson 

lines ; 
Witness these trenches made by grief and care ; 
Witness the tiring day and heavy night ; 
Witness all sorrow, that I know thee well 
For our proud empress, mighty Tamora. 
Is not thy coming for my other hand ? 

Tamora. Know, thou sad man, I am not Tamora; 
She is thy enemy, and I thy friend. 
I am Revenge, sent from the infernal kingdom, 30 

To ease the gnawing vulture of thy mind 
By working wreakful vengeance on thy foes. 
Come down, and welcome me to this world's light; 
Confer with me of murther and of death. 
There 's not a hollow cave or lurking-place, 
No vast obscurity or misty vale, 
Where bloody murther or detested rape 
Can couch for fear but I will find them out, 
And in their ears tell them my dreadful name, 
Revenge, which makes the foul offender quake. 40 

Titus. Art thou Revenge ? and art thou sent to me. 
To be a torment to mine enemies ? 

Tamora. I am ; therefore come down, and welcome 
me. 

Titus. Do me some service, ere I come to thee. 
Lo, by thy side where Rape and Murther stands ; 
Now give some surance that thou art Revenge, 
Stab them or tear them on thy chariot wheels ; 



Scene II] Titus Andronicus 125 

And then I '11 come and be thy wagoner, 

And whirl along with thee about the globe. 

Provide thee two proper palfreys, black as jet, 50 

To hale thy vengeful wagon swift away 

And find out murtherers in their guilty caves ; 

And when thy car is loaden with their heads, 

I will dismount, and by the wagon-wheel 

Trot, like a servile footman, all day long, 

Even from Hyperion's rising in the east 

Until his very downfall in the sea ; 

And clay by day I 'il do this heavy task, 

So thou destroy Rapine and Murther there. 59 

Tamora. These are my ministers, and come with me. 

Tiius. Are these thy ministers ? what are they call'd ? 

Tamora. Rapine and Murther ; therefore called so, 
'Cause they take vengeance of such kind of men. 

Titus. Good Lord, how like the empress' sons they 
are ! 
And you, the empress ! but we worldly men 
Have miserable, mad, mistaking eyes. 

sweet Revenge, now do I come to thee ; 

And, if one arm's embracement will content thee, 

1 will embrace thee in it by and by. \_Exit above. 

Tamora. This closing with him fits his lunacy. 70 

Whate'er I forge to feed his brain-sick fits, 
Do you uphold and maintain in your speeches, 
For now he firmly takes me for Revenge ; 
And, being credulous in this mad thought, 
I '11 make him send for Lucius his son ; 



126 Titus Andronicus [Act v 

And, whilst I at a banquet hold him sure, 

1 '11 find some cunning practice out of hand 

To scatter and disperse the giddy Goths, 

Or, at the least, make them his enemies. — 

See, here he comes, and I must ply my theme. So 

Enter Titus, below 

Tilus. Long have I been forlorn, and all for thee ; 
Welcome, dread Fury, to my woful house. — - 
Rapine and Murther, you are welcome too. — 
How like the empress and her sons you are ! 
Well are you fitted, had you but a Moor ; 
Could not all hell afford you such a devil ? 
For well I wot the empress never wags 
But in her company there is a Moor ; 
And, would you represent our queen aright, 
It were convenient you had such a devil. 90 

But welcome, as you are. What shall we do ? 

Tamora. What wouldst thou have us do, Andronicus ? 

Demetrius. Show me a murtherer, I '11 deal with him. 

Chiron. Show me a villain that hath done a rape. 
And I am sent to be reveng'd on him. 

Tamora. Show me a thousand that have done thee 
wrong, 
And I will be revenged on them all. 

Titus. Look round about the wicked streets of Rome, 
And when thou find'st a man that 's like thyself, 
Good Murther, stab him ; he 's a murtherer. — 100 

Go thou with him, and when it is thy hap 



Scene II] Titus Andronicus 127 

To find another that is like to thee, 

Good Rapine, stab him ; he's a ravisher. — 

Go thou with them ; and in the emperor's court 

There is a queen, attended by a Moor. 

Well mayst thou know her by thy own proportion, 

For up and down she doth resemble thee. 

I pray thee, do on them some violent death ; 

They have been violent to me and mine. 

Tamora. Well hast thou lesson 'd us ; this shall we 
do. no 

But would it please thee, good Andronicus, 
To send for Lucius, thy thrice-valiant son, 
Who leads towards Rome a band of warlike Goths, 
And bid him come and banquet at thy house, 
When he is here, even at thy solemn feast, 
I will bring in the empress and her sons, 
The emperor himself and all thy foes ; 
And at thy mercy shall they stoop and kneel, 
And on them shalt thou ease thy angry heart. 
What says Andronicus to this device ? 120 

Titus. Marcus, my brother ! 't is sad Titus calls. 

Enter Marcus 

Go, gentle Marcus, to thy nephew Lucius ; 
Thou shalt inquire him out among the Goths. 
Bid him repair to me, and bring with him 
Some of the chiefest princes of the Goths ; 
Bid him encamp his soldiers where they are ; 
Tell him the emperor and the empress too 



128 Titus Andronicus [Act V 

Feast at my house, and he shall feast with them. 

This do thou for my love ; and so let him, 

As he regards his aged father's life. 130 

Marcus. This will I do, and soon return again. 

[Exit. 

Tamora. Now will I hence about thy business, 
And take my ministers along with me. 

Titus. Nay, nay, let Rape and Murther stay with me 
Or else I '11 call my brother back again, 
And cleave to no revenge but Lucius. 

Tamora. [Aside to her sons'] What say you, boys ? 
will you bide with him, 
Whiles I go tell my lord the emperor 
How I have govern'd our determin'd jest ? 
Yield to his humour, smooth and speak him fair, 140 
And tarry with him till I turn again. 

Titus. [Aside] I know them all, though they suppose 
me mad, 
And will o'ereach them in their own devices, — 
A pair of cursed hell-hounds and their dam ! 

Demetrius. Madam, depart at pleasure ; leave us 
here. 

Tamora. Farewell, Andronicus ; Revenge now goes 
To lay a complot to betray thy foes. 

Titus. I know thou dost ; and, sweet Revenge, fare- 
well. [Exit Tamora. 

Chiron. Tell us, old man, how shall we be employ'd ? 

Titus. Tut, T have work enough for you to do. 150 
Publius, come hither, Caius, and Valentine ! 



Scene ii] Titus Andronicus 129 

Enter Publius and others 

Publius. What is your will ? 

Titus. Know you these two ? 

Publius. The empress' sons, I take them, Chiron 
and Demetrius. 

Titus. Fie, Publius, fie ! thou art too much deceiv'd ; 
The one is Murther, Rape is the other's name ; 
And therefore bind them, gentle Publius. — 
Caius and Valentine, lay hands on them. 
Oft have you heard me wish for such an hour, 160 

And now I find it ; therefore bind them sure, 
And stop their mouths, if they begin to cry. [Exit. 

[Publius, etc., lay hold on Chiron and Demetrius. 

Chiron. Villains, forbear ! we are the empress' sons. 

Publius. And therefore do we what we are com- 
manded. — - 
Stop close their mouths, let them not speak a word. 
Is he sure bound ? look that you bind them fast. 

Re-enter Titus, with Lavinia ; he bearing a knife, and 
she a basin 

Titus. Come, come, Lavinia ; look, thy foes are 

bound. — 
Sirs, stop their mouths, let them not speak to me, 
But let them hear what fearful words I utter. — 
O villains, Chiron and Demetrius ! 170 

Here stands the spring whom you have stain'd with 

mud, 

TITUS ANDRONICUS — 9 



130 Titus Andronicus [Act V 

This goodly summer with your winter mix'd. 

You kill'd her husband, and for that vile fault 

Two of her brothers were condemn'd to death, 

My hand cut off and made a merry jest ; 

Both her sweet hands, her tongue, and that more dear 

Than hands or tongue, her spotless chastity, 

Inhuman traitors, you constrain'd and forc'd. 

What would you say if I should let you speak ? 

Villains, for shame you could not beg for grace. 1S0 

Hark, wretches ! how I mean to martyr you. 

This one hand yet is left to cut your throats, 

Whilst that Lavinia 'tween her stumps doth hold 

The basin that receives your guilty blood. 

You know your mother means to feast with me, 

And calls herself Revenge, and thinks me mad ; 

Hark, villains ! I will grind your bones to dust 

And with your blood and it I '11 make a paste, 

And of the paste a coffin I will rear 

And make two pasties of your shameful heads, 190 

And bid that strumpet, your unhallow'd dam, 

Like to the earth swallow her own increase. 

This is the feast that I have bid her to, 

And this the banquet she shall surfeit on ; 

For worse than Philomel you used my daughter, 

And worse than Progne I will be reveng'd. 

And now prepare your throats. — - Lavinia, come, 

\He cuts their throats. 
Receive the blood: and when that they arc dead, 
Let me go grind their bones to powder small 



Scene III] Titus Andronicus 131 

And with this hateful liquor temper it ; 200 

And in that paste let their vile heads be bak'd. — 

Come, come, be every one officious 

To make this banquet, which I wish may prove 

More stern and bloody than the Centaurs' feast. 

So, now bring them in, for I'll play the cook, 

And see them ready 'gainst their mother comes. 

\_Excunt, bearing the dead bodies. 

Scene III. Court of Titus's House. A Banquet set out 

Enter Lucius, Marcus, and Goths, with Aaron 

prisoner 

Lucius. Uncle Marcus, since it is my father's mind 
That I repair to Rome, I am content. 

1 Goth. And ours with thine, befall what fortune will. 

Lucius. Good uncle, take you in this barbarous Moor, 
This ravenous tiger, this accursed devil ; 
Let him receive no sustenance, fetter him, 
Till he be brought unto the empress' face, 
For testimony of her foul proceedings. 
And see the ambush of our friends be strong ; 
I fear the emperor means no good to us. 10 

Aaron. Some devil whisper curses in mine ear, 
And prompt me, that my tongue may utter forth 
The venomous malice of my swelling heart ! 

Lucius. Away, inhuman dog ! unhallow'd slave ! — 
Sirs, help our uncle to convey him in. 

[Exeunt Goths, with Aaron. Flourish within. 
The trumpets show the emperor is at hand. 



132 Titus Andronicus [Act V 

Enter Saturninus and Tamora, with ^Emilius, Trib- 
unes, Senators, and others 

Saturninus. What, hath the firmament moe suns 

than one ? 
Lucius. What boots it thee to call thyself a sun ? 
Marcus. Rome's emperor, and nephew, break the 
parle ; 
These quarrels must be quietly debated. 20 

The feast is ready which the careful Titus 
Hath ordain'd to an honourable end, 
For peace, for love, for league, and good to Rome ; 
Please you, therefore, draw nigh, and take your places. 
Saturninus. Marcus, we will. 

[Hautboys sound. The Company sit down at tabic. 

Enter Titus, dressed tike a Cook, Lavinia veiled, young 
Lucius, and others. Titus places the dishes on the 
table 

Titus. Welcome, my gracious lord ; — welcome, dread 
queen ; — 
Welcome, ye warlike Goths ; — welcome, Lucius ; — 
And welcome, all : although the cheer be poor, 
'T will fill your stomachs ; please you eat of it. 

Saturninus. Why art thou thus attir'd, Andronicus ? 

Titus. Because I would be sure to have all well, 31 
To entertain your highness and your empress. 

Tamora. We are beholding to you, good Andronicus. 

Titus. An if your highness knew my heart, you 
were. — 



Scene III] Titus Andronicus 133 

My lord the emperor, resolve me this : 
Was it well done of rash Virginius 
To slay his daughter with his own right hand, 
Because she was enforc'd, stain 'd, and deflower'd ? 
Saturninus. It was, Andronicus. 
Titus. Your reason, mighty lord ? 40 

Saturninus. Because the girl should not survive her 
shame, 
And by her presence still renew his sorrows. 

Titus. A reason mighty, strong, and effectual ; 
A pattern, precedent, and lively warrant, 
For me, most wretched, to perform the like. — 
Uie, die, Lavinia, and thy shame with thee ; 

\Kills Lavinia. 
And, with thy shame, thy father's sorrow die ! 

Saturninus. What hast thou done, unnatural and 

unkind ? 
Titus. Kill'd her for whom my tears have made me 
blind. 
I am as woful as Virginius was, 50 

And have a thousand times more cause than he 
To do this outrage ; and it now is done. 

Saturninus. What, was she ravish'd ? tell who did 

the deed. 
Titus. Will 't please you eat ? will 't please your 

highness feed ? 
Tanwra. Why hast thou slain thine only daughter 

thus ? 
Titus. Not I ; ; t was Chiron and Demetrius. 



134 Titus Andronicus [Act v 

They ravish'd her, and cut away her tongue ; 
And they, 't was they, that did her all this wrong. 
Saturninus . Go fetch them hither to us presently. 
Titus. Why, there they are both, baked in that 
pie ; 60 

Whereof their mother daintily hath fed, 
Eating the flesh that she herself hath bred. 
'T is true, 't is true ; witness my knife's sharp point. 

\_Kills Tamora. 
Saturninus. Die, frantic wretch, for this accursed 
deed ! [Kills Titus. 

Lucius. Can the son's eye behold his father bleed ? 
There 's meed for meed, death for a deadly deed ! 

[Kills Saturninus. A great tumult. Lucius, 
Marcus, and others go up i/ito the balcony. 
Marcus. You sad-fac'd men, people and sons of 
Rome, 
By uproar sever'd, like a flight of fowl 
Scatter'd by winds and high tempestuous gusts, 
(), let me teach you how to knit again ;o 

This scatter'd corn into one mutual sheaf, 
These broken limbs again into one body ; 
Lest Rome herself be bane unto herself, 
And she whom mighty kingdoms curtsy to, 
Like a forlorn and desperate castaway, 
Do shameful execution on herself. 
But if my frosty signs and chaps of age, 
Grave witnesses of true experience, 
Cannot induce you to attend my words, — 



Scene Hi] Titus Andronicus 135 

[To Lucius] Speak, Rome's dear friend, as erst our 
ancestor, So 

When with his solemn tongue he did discourse 
To love-sick Dido's sad attending ear 
The story of that baleful burning night 
When subtle Greeks surpris'd King Priam's Troy ; 
Tell us what Sinon hath bewitch'd our ears, 
Or who hath brought the fatal engine in 
That gives our Troy, our Rome, the civil wound. 
ZSJ y heart is not compact of flint nor steel, 
Nor can I utter all our bitter grief, 

But floods of tears will drown my oratory, 90 

And break my utterance, even in the time 
When it should move you to attend me most, 
Lending your kind commiseration. 
Here is a captain, let him tell the tale ; 
Your hearts will throb and weep to hear him speak. 
Lucius. Then, noble auditory, be it known to you 
That cursed Chiron and Demetrius 
Were they that murthered our emperor's brother ; 
And they it were that ravished our sister. 
For their fell faults our brothers were beheaded, 100 

Our father's tears despis'd, and basely cozen'd 
Of that true hand that fought Rome's quarrel out 
And sent her enemies unto the grave ; 
Lastly, myself unkindly banished. 
The gates shut on me, and turn'd weeping out, 
To be? relief anions; Rome's enemies, 
Who drown'd their enmity in my true tears, 



136 Titus Andronicus [Act v 

And op'd their arms to embrace me as a friend. 
I am the turned forth, be it known to you, 
That have preserv'd her welfare in my blood, no 

And from her bosom took the enemy's point, 
Sheathing the steel in my adventurous body. 
Alas, you know I am no vaunter, I ; 
My scars can witness, dumb although they are, 
That my report is just and full of truth. 
But, soft ! methinks I do digress too much, 
Citing my worthless praise. O, pardon me ; 
For when no friends are by, men praise themselves. 
Marcus. Now is my turn to speak. Behold this 
child ! 
[Pointing to the Child in the arms of an Attendant. 
Of this was Tamora delivered, 120 

The issue of an irreligious Moor, 
Chief architect and plotter of these woes. 
The villain is alive in Titus' house, 
Damn'd as he is, to witness this is true. 
Now judge what cause had Titus to revenge 
These wrongs, unspeakable, past patience, 
Or more than any living man could bear. 
Now you have heard the truth, what say you, Romans ? 
Have we done aught amiss, — show us wherein, 
And, from the place where you behold us now, 130 

The poor remainder of Andronici 
Will, hand in hand, all headlong cast us down, 
And on the ragged stones beat forth our brains, 
And make a mutual closure of our house. 



Scene in] Titus Andronicus 137 

Speak, Romans, speak ; and if you say we shall, 
Lo, hand in hand, Lucius and I will fall. 

sEmilius. Come, come, thou reverend man of Rome, 
And bring our emperor gently in thy hand, — 
Lucius, our emperor ; for well I know, 
The common voice do cry it shall be so. 140 

Marcus, Lucius, all hail, Rome's royal emperor ! 
Go, go, into old Titus' sorrowful house, 
And hither hale that misbelieving Moor, 
To be adjudg'd some direful slaughtering death, 
As punishment for his most wicked life. — 

\To Attendants. 
Lucius, all hail ! Rome's gracious governor ! 

Lucius. Thanks, gentle Romans ! May I govern so 
To heal Rome's harms and wipe away her woe. 
But, gentle people, give me aim awhile, 
For nature puts me to a heavy task ! 150 

Stand all aloof ; but, uncle, draw you near, 
To shed obsequious tears upon this trunk. — 
O, take this warm kiss on thy pale cold lips, 

\_Kisses Titus. 
These sorrowful drops upon thy blood-stain'd face, 
The last true duties of thy noble son ! 

Marcus. Tear for tear, and loving kiss for kiss, 
Thy brother Marcus tenders on thy lips. 
O, were the sum of these that I should pay 
Countless and infinite, yet would I pay them ! 

Lucius. Come hither, boy ; come, come, and learn 
of US 160 



138 Titus Andronicus [Act V 

To melt in showers. Thy grandsire lov'd thee well ; 

Many a time he danc'd thee on his knee, 

Sung thee asleep, his loving breast thy pillow ; 

Many a matter hath he told to thee, 

Meet and agreeing with thine infancy. 

In that respect, then, like a loving child, 

Shed yet some small drops from thy tender spring, 

Because kind nature doth require it so ; 

Friends should associate friends in grief and woe. 

Bid him farewell, commit him to the grave ; 170 

Do him that kindness and take leave of him. 

Boy. O, grandsire, grandsire, even with all my heart 
Would I were dead, so you did live again ! 
O, Lord. I cannot speak to him for weeping ! 
My tears will choke me if I ope my mouth. 

Enter Attendants with Aaron 

Roman. You sad Andronici. have clone with woes ! 
Give sentence on this execrable wretch 
That hath been breeder of these dire events. 

Lucius. Set him breast deep in earth, and famish 
him ; 
There let him stand, and rave, and cry for food. 1S0 

If any one relieves or pities him, 
For the offence he dies : this is our doom. 
Some stay to see him fasten'd in the earth. 

Aaron. Ah ! why should wrath be mute, and fury 
dumb ? 
I am no baby, 1, that with base prayers 



Scene III] Titus Andronicus 



139 



I should repent the evils I have clone ; 
Ten thousand worse than ever yet I did 
Would I perform if I might have my will. 
If one good deed in all my life I did, 
1 do repent it from my very soul. i 9 o 

Lucius. Some loving friends convey the emperor 
hence, 
And give him burial in his father's grave. 
My father and Lavinia shall forthwith 
Be closed in our household's monument. 
As for that heinous tiger, Tamora, 
Xo funeral rite, nor man in mourning weeds, 
Xo mournful bell shall ring her burial ; 
But throw her forth to beasts and birds of prey. 
Her life was beastly and devoid of pity, 
And, being so, shall have like want of pity. 200 

See justice done on Aaron, that damn'd Moor, 
By whom our heavy haps had their beginning; 
Then, afterwards, to order well the state, 
That like events may ne'er it ruinate. \_Exeunt. 



NOTES 




NOTES 



Introduction 



The Metre of the Play. — In the present play there are 
probably but few passages that are Shakespeare's ; and the metre, 
except in those passages, is markedly inferior to his, even as we 
find it in the earliest work that can be confidently ascribed to him. 
I give, however, a sketch of the metre, as in the other plays. 

It should be understood at the outset that metre, or the mechan- 
ism of verse, is something altogether distinct from the music of 
verse. The one is matter of rule, the other of taste and feeling. 
Music is not an absolute necessity of verse ; the metrical form is a 
necessity, being that which constitutes the verse. 

The plays of Shakespeare (with the exception of rhymed pas- 
sages, and of occasional songs and interludes) are all in unrhymed 
or blank verse ; and the normal form of this blank verse is illus- 
trated by i. I. 7 of the present play: "Then let my father's honours 
live in me." 

This line, it will be seen, consists of ten syllables, with the even 
syllables (2d, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th) accented, the odd syllables 
(1st, 3d, etc.) being unaccented. Theoretically, it is made up of 

!43 



144 Notes 

five feet of two syllables each, with the accent on the second sylla- 
ble. Such a foot is called an iambus (plural, iambuses, or the Latin 
iambi), and the form of verse is called iambic. 

This fundamental law of Shakespeare's verse is subject to certain 
modifications, the most important of which are as follows : — 

1. After the tenth syllable an unaccented syllable (or even two 
such syllables) may be added, forming what is sometimes called a 
female line; as in i. I. 58: "And to the love and favour of my 
country." The rhythm is complete with the first syllable of country, 
the second being an extra eleventh syllable. In i. I. 201 ("Titus, 
thou shalt obtain and ask the empery") we have two extra sylla- 
bles, the rhythm being complete with the first syllable of empery, 

2. The accent in any part of the verse may be shifted from an 
even to an odd syllable; as in i. 1. 1 : "Noble patricians, patrons 
of my right,"' and 4 : " Plead my successive title with your swords." 
In both lines the accent is shifted from the second to the first 
syllable. This change occurs very rarely in the tenth syllable, and 
seldom in the fourth ; and it is not allowable in two successive 
accented syllables. 

3. An extra unaccented syllable may occur in any part of the 
line; as in i. 1. 6, 9, and 14. In 6 and in 14 the word The and 
the third syllable of imperial are superfluous, and in 9 the second 
syllable of followers and favourers. 

4. Any unaccented syllable, occurring in an even place immedi- 
ately before or after an even syllable which is properly accented, is 
reckoned as accented for the purposes of the verse ; as, for in- 
stance, in lines 3 and 6. In 3 the last syllable of countrymen and 
of followers and in 6 that of diadem are metrically equivalent to 
accented syllables ; and so with the first syllable of Bassianus in 
10, the last of Capitol in 12, of consecrate in 14, and of continence 
and nobility in 15. 

5. In many instances in Shakespeare words must be lengthened 
in order to fill out the rhythm : — 

(a) In a large class of words in which e or i is followed by 



Notes 145 



another vowel, the e or i is made a separate syllable ; as ocean, 
opinion, soldier, patience, partial, marriage, etc. For instance, 
iv. 2. 101 (" For all the water in the ocean") appears to have only 
nine syllables, but ocean is a trisyllable ; as again in iv. 3. 7 : " Go 
sound the ocean, and cast your nets." This lengthening occurs 
most frequently at the end of the line (there are several exceptions 
in this play, beside ocean in iv. 3. 7), and is most common in the 
earliest plays. 

(/;) Many monosyllables ending in r, re, rs, res, preceded by a 
long vowel or diphthong, are often made dissyllables ; as fare, fear, 
dear, fire (see on i. I. 127), hair, liour (three times in this play), 
sire, etc. If the word is repeated in a verse, it is often both mono- 
syllable and dissyllable ; as in M. of V. iii. 2. 20 : "And so, though 
yours, not yours. Prove it so," where either yours (preferably the 
first) is a dissyllable, the other being a monosyllable. In_/. C. iii. 
1. 172: "As fire drives out fire, so pity, pity," the first fire is a 
dissyllable. (See also on v. 3. 156 of this play.) 

((■) Words containing / or r, preceded by another consonant, 
are often pronounced as if a vowel came between or after the 
consonants; as in i. I. 240: " Lavinia will I make my empress" 
[emp(e)ress] ; i. I. 348: "Give Mutius burial with our brethren" 
[breth(e)ren] ; ii. 3. 115: "Or be not henceforth called my chil- 
dren" (childeren, the original form of the word); T. of S. ii. 1. 
158: "While she did call me rascal fiddler" [fiddl(e)er], etc. 
Empress is a trisyllable in three other passages in the present play 
(see index). 

(</) Monosyllabic exclamations (ay, 0, yea, nay, hail, etc.) and 
monosyllables otherwise emphasized are similarly lengthened ; also 
certain longer words; as commandement in M. of V. iv. 1. 451 ; 
safety (trisyllable) in Ham. i. 3. 21 ; business (trisyllable, as origi- 
nally pronounced) in this play, v. 2. 132: "Now will I hence about 
the business" (so in several other plays); and other words men- 
tioned in the notes to the plays in which they occur. 

6. Words are also contracted for metrical reasons, like plurals 
TITUS ANDRONICUS — IO 



146 



Notes 



and possessives ending in a sibilant, as balance, horse (for horses, 
as in ii. 2. 18 of this play, and horse's), princess, sense, marriage 
(plural and possessive), image, etc. So with many adjectives in 
the superlative like greatest, highest, quick's/, slem'st, secrefst, etc., 
and certain other words. 

7. The accent of words is also varied in many instances for 
metrical reasons. Thus we find both revenue and revenue in the 
first scene of M. N. D. (lines 6 and 158), cSnfiue (noun) and con- 
fine, extreme (see on v. I. 113) and extreme, sequester and sequester 
(see on ii. 3. 75), conduct (noun) and conduct (see on iv. 4. 65), 
distinct and distinct, etc. 

These instances of variable accent must not be confounded with 
those in which words were uniformly accented differently in the 
time of Shakespeare ; like aspect, impdrtune, sepulchre (verb), 
persever (never persevere), perseverance, rheumatic, receptacle (see 
on i. 1. 92), etc. 

8. Alexandrines, or verses of twelve syllables, with six accents, 
occur here and there in the plays. They must not be confounded 
with female lines with two extra syllables (see on 1 above) or with 
other lines in which two extra unaccented syllables may occur. 

9. Incomplete verses, of one or more syllables, are scattered 
through the plays. See i. 1. 35, 62, 4S5, ii. 1. 9, 25, etc. 

10. Doggerel measure is used in the very earliest comedies 
(/,. /,. L. and C. of I'., in particular) in the mouths of comic char- 
acters, but nowhere else in those plays, and never anywhere in 
plays written after 159S. There is none in this play, though it is 
of early date. 

ir. Rhyme occurs frequently in the early plays, but diminishes 
with comparative regularitv from that period until the latest. Thus, 
in /.. L. I. there are about 1100 rhyming verses (about one-third 
of the whole number), in j\l. X. I), about 900, in KicJi. If. and 
A', and /. about 500 each, while in Cor. and A. anil C. there are- 
only about 40 each, in Temp, only two, and in IV. T. none at all, 
except in the chorus introducing act iv. Songs, interludes, and 



Notes 147 



other matter not in ten-syllable measure are not included in this 
enumeration. In the present play, out of some 2500 ten-syllable 
verses, about 120 are in rhyme. 

Alternate rhymes are found only in the plays written before 
1599 or 1600. In M. of V. there are only four lines at the end 
of iii. 2. In Much Ado and A. Y. L., we also find a few lines, but 
none at all in subsequent plays. There are none in the present 
play, though it is a very early one. 

Rhymed couplets, or "rhyme-tags," are often found at the end 
of scenes ; as in 3 of the 14 scenes of the present play. In Ham. 
14 out of 20 scenes, and in Macb. 21 out of 28, have such " tags ; " 
but in the latest plays they are not so frequent. In Temp., for 
instance, there is but one, and in W. T. none. 

12. In this edition of Shakespeare, the final -ed of past tenses 
and participles in verse is printed -d when the word is to be pro- 
nounced in the ordinary way; as in yoh'd and trait? d in i. 1. 30. 
But when the metre requires that the -ed be made a separate 
syllable, the e is retained ; as in surnamed, i. I. 23, and chastised, 
i. 1. 32, both words being trisyllables. The only variation from 
this rule is in verbs like cry, die, sue, etc., the -ed of which is very 
rarely made a separate syllable. Sued is a dissyllable in i. 1. 453. 

Shakespeare's Use of Verse and Prose in the Plays. — 
This is a subject to which the critics have given very little atten- 
tion, but it is an interesting study. The present play, with the 
exception of about forty lines, is entirely in verse. In general, we 
may say that verse is used for what is distinctly poetical, and prose 
for what is not poetical. The distinction, however, is not so clearly 
marked in the earlier as in the later plays. The second scene of 
M. of V., for instance, is in prose, because Portia and Nerissa are 
talking about the suitors in a familiar and playful way ; but in 
T. G. of V., where Julia and Lucetta are discussing the suitors of 
the former in much the same fashion, the scene is in verse. Dow- 
den, commenting on Rich. II., remarks : " Had Shakespeare written 
the play a few years later, we may be certain that the gardener 



148 Notes 

and his servants (iii. 4) would not have uttered stately speeches 
in verse, but would have spoken homely prose, and that humour 
would have mingled with the pathos of the scene. The same re- 
mark may be made with reference to the subsequent scene (v. 5) 
in which his groom visits the dethroned king in the Tower." Comic 
characters and those in low life generally speak in prose in the 
later plays, as Dowden intimates, but in the very earliest ones 
doggerel verse is much used instead. See on 10 above. 

The change from prose to verse is well illustrated in the third 
scene of M. of V. It begins with plain prosaic talk about a busi- 
ness matter ; but when Antonio enters, it rises at once to the 
higher level of poetry. The sight of Antonio reminds Shylock of 
his hatred of the Merchant, and the passion expresses itself in 
verse, the vernacular tongue of poetry. 

The reasons for the chwice of prose or verse are not always so 
clear as in this instance. We are seldom puzzled to explain the 
prose, but not unfrequently we meet with verse where we might 
expect prose. As Professor Corson remarks {Introduction to Shake- 
speare, 18S9), "Shakespeare adopted verse as the general tenor of 
his language, and therefore expressed much in verse that is within 
the capabilities of prose ; in other words, his verse constantly en- 
croaches upon the domain of prose, but his prose can never be 
said to encroach upon the domain of verse." If in rare instances 
we think we find exceptions to this latter statement, and prose 
actually seems to usurp the place of verse, I believe that careful 
study of the passage will prove the supposed exception to be 
apparent rather than real. 

Some Books for Teachers and Students. — A few out of the 
many books that might be commended to the teacher and the criti- 
cal student are the following: Halliwell-Phillipps's Outlines of the 
life of Shakespeare (7th ed. 18S7); Sidney Lee's Life of Shake- 
speare (189S; for ordinary students the abridged ed. of 1S99 is 
better) ; Rolfe's Life if Shakespeare (1904) ; Schmidt's Shakespeare 
Lexicon (3d ed. 1902); Littledale's ed. of Uyce's Glossary (1902); 



Notes 



149 



Bartlett's Concordance to Shakespeare (1895); Abbott's Shake- 
spearian Grammar (1873); Furness's "New Variorum" ed. of 
the plays (encyclopaedic and exhaustive); Dowden's Shakspere : 
His Mind and Art (American ed. 1881); Hudson's Life, Art, 
ana Characters of Shakespeare (revised ed. 1882); Mrs. Jameson's 
Characteristics of JVomen (several eds. ; some with the title 
Shakespeare Heroines) ; Ten Brink's Five Lectures on Shakespeare 
(1895); Boas's Shakespeare and His Predecessors (1895); Dyer's 
Folk-lore of Shakespeare (American ed. 18S4); Gervinus's Shake- 
speare Commentaries (Bunnett's translation, 1875); Wordsworth's 
Shakespeare's Knowledge of the Bible (3d ed. 1 880) ; Elson's Shake- 
speare in Music (1901). 

Some of the above books will be useful to all readers who are 
interested in special subjects or in general criticism of Shakespeare. 
Among those which are better suited to the needs of ordinary 
readers and students, the following may be mentioned: Mabie's 
William Shakespeare : Poet, Dramatist, and Man (1900); Dow- 
den's Shakspere Primer (1877; small but invaluable); Rolfe's 
Shakespeare the Boy (1896; not a mere juvenile book, but treating 
of the home and school life, the games and sports, the manners, 
customs, and folk-lore of the poet's time) ; Guerber's Myths of 
Greece and Rome (for young students who may need information 
on mythological allusions not explained in the notes). 

II. Snowden Ward's Shakespeare's Town and Times (2d ed. 
1902) and John Leyland's Shakespeare Country (2d ed. 1903) are 
copiously illustrated books (yet inexpensive) which may be par- 
ticularly commended for school libraries. 

Abbreviations in the Notes. — The abbreviations of the names 
of Shakespeare's plays will be readily understood ; as T. X. for 
Twelfth Night, Cor. for Coriolanus, 3 Hen. VL for The Third 
Part of King Henry Tie Sixth, etc. P. P. refers to The Passionate 
Pilgrim ; V. and A. to Venus and Adonis; Z. C. to Lo7>er's Com- 
plaint; and Sonn. to the Sonnets. 

Other abbreviations that hardly need explanation are Cf (confer, 



150 Notes 

compare), Fol. (following), Id. {idem, the same), and Pro/, (pro- 
logue). The numbers of the lines in the references (except for the 
present play) are those of the "Globe" edition (the cheapest and 
best edition of Shakespeare in one compact volume), which is now 
generally accepted as the standard for line-numbers in works of ref- 
erence (Schmidt's Lexicon, Abbott's Grammar, Dowden's Primer, 
the publications of the New Shakspere Society, etc.). 

The Ballad ok "Titus Andronicus's Complaint. — " 

The following is the ballad referred to on p. 16 above : — 

"You noble minds, and famous martiall wights, 
That in defence of native country fights, 
Give eare to me, that ten yeeres fought for Rome, 
Yet reapt disgrace at my returning home. 

In Rome I lived in fame fulle threescore yeeres, 
My name beloved was of all my peeres ; 
Full five and twenty Valiant sonnes I had, 
Whose forwarde vertues made their father glad. 

For when Rome's foes their warlike forces bent, 
Against them stille my sonnes and I were sent ; 
Against the Goths full ten yeeres weary warre 
We spent, receiving many a bloudy scarre. 

Just two and twenty of my sonnes were slaine 
Before we did return to Rome againe ; 
Of five and twenty sonnes I brought but three 
Alive, the stately towers of Rome to see. 

When wars were done, I conquest home did bring, 
And did present my prisoners to the king, 
The queene of Goths, her sons, and eke a Moore, 
Which did such murders, like was nere before. 

The emperour did make this queene his wife, 
Which bred in Rome debate and deadlie strife; 
The Moore, with her two sonnes, did growe soe proud, 
That none like them in Rome might bee allowd. 



Notes 1 5 1 



The Moore so pleas'd this new-made empress' eie, 

That she consented to him secretlye 

For to abuse her husband's marriage-bed, 

And soe in time a blackamore she bred. 

Then she, whose thoughts to murder were inclinde, 
Consented with the Moore of bloody minde 
Against myselfe, my kin, and all my friendes, 
In cruell sort to bring them to their endes. 

Soe when in age I thought to live in peace, 
Both care and grief began then to increase: 
Amongst my sonnes I had one daughter bright 
Which joy'd and pleased best my aged sight. 

My deare Lavinia was betrothed then 
To Caesar's sonne, a young and noble man : 
Who in a hunting, by the emperour's wife 
And her two sonnes, bereaved was of life. 

lie, being slain, was cast in cruel wise 
Into a darksome den from light of skies : 
The cruel Moore did come that way as then 
With my three sonnes, who fell into the den. 

The Moore then fetcht the emperour with speed 
For to accuse them of the murderous deed ; 
And when my sonnes within the den were found, 
In wrongfull prison they were cast and bound. 

But nowe, behold ! what wounded most my mind, 
The empresse's two sonnes of savage kind 
My daughter ravished without remorse, 
And took away her honour, quite perforce. 

When they had tasted of soe sweet a flowre, 
Fearing this sweete should shortly turn to sowre, 
They cutt her tongue, whereby she could not tell 
How that dishonoure unto her befell. 



152 Notes 



Then both her hands they basely cutt off' quite, 
Whereby their vvickednesse she could not write, 
Nor with her needle on her sampler sowe 
The bloudye workers of her dircfull woe. 

My brother Marcus found her in the wood, 
Staining the grassie ground with purple bloud, 
That trickled from her stumpes and bloudlesse armes: 
Noe tongue at all she had to tell her harmes. 

But when I sawe her in that woefull case, 
With teares of bloud I wet mine aged face: 
For my Lavinia I lamented more 
Then for my two and twenty sonnes before. 

When as I sawe she could not write nor speake, 
With grief mine aged heart began to breake ; 
We spred an heape of sand upon the ground, 
Whereby those bloudy tyrants out we found. 

For with a staffe, without the helpe of hand, 
She writt these wordes upon the plat of sand : — 
'The lustfull sonnes of the proud emperesse 
Are doers of this hateful wickednesse.' 

I tore the milk-white hairs from off mine head, 
I curst the houre wherein 1 first was bred ; 
I wisht this hand, that fought for countrie's fame, 
In cradle rockt had first been stroken lame. 

The Moore, delighting still in villainy 

Did say, to sett my sonnes from prison free, 

I should unto the king my right hand give, 

And then my three imprisoned sonnes should live. 

The Moore I caus'd to strike it off with spcede, 
Whereat I grieved not to see it bleed. 
But for my sonnes would willingly impart, 
And for their ransome send my bleeding heart. 



Notes 153 



But as my life did linger thus in paine, 
They sent to me my bootless hand againe, 
And therewithal the heades of my three sonnes, 
Which filled my dying heart with fresher moanes. 

Then past reliefe I upp and downe did goe, 
And with my tears writ in the dust my woe : 
I shot my arrowes towards heaven hie, 
And for revenge to hell did often crye. 

The empresse then, thinking that I was mad, 
Like furies she and both her sonnes were clad 
(She nam'd Revenge, and Rape and Murder they), 
To undermine and heare what I would say. 

I fed their foolish veines * a certaine space, 
Until my friendes did find a secret place, 
Where both her sonnes unto a post were bound, 
And just revenge in cruell sort was found. 

I cut their throates, my daughter held the pan 
Betwixt her stumpes, wherein the bloud it ran : 
And then I ground their bones to powder small, 
And made a paste for pyes straight therewithal!. 

Then with, their fieshe I made two mighty pyes, 
And at a banquet, served in stately wise, 
Before the empresse set this loathsome meat; 
So of her sonnes own flesh she well did eat. 

Myselfe bereav'd my daughter then of life, 
The empresse then I slewe with bloudy knife, 
And stabb'd the emperour immediatelie, 
And then myself: even soe did Titus die. 

Then this revenge against the Moore was found, 
Alive they sett him halfe into the ground, 
Whereas he stood untill such time he starv'd. 
And soe God send all murderers may be serv'd." 

1 Veines — ■ humours. 



154 Notes [Act I 



ACT I 

Scene I. — In the folio the play is divided into acts, the first of 
which is headed "Actus Primus. Sccena Prima" In the quartos 

there is no division into acts or scenes. 

4. My successive title. My title to the succession. Cf. Sonn. 
127. 3 and 2 Hen. VI. iii. 1. 49. Steevens quotes Raleigh : "The 
empire being elective, and not successive," etc. 

5. I am his. The reading of the quartos ; the folio has " I was 
the." The 4th folio reads : " I was the first-born son of him that 
last Wore," etc., which Pope adopts, changing " was " to " am." 
For 7vore the quarto.-; have " ware." 

S. Age. "Seniority in point of age " (Boswell). 

9. Rowans. " As a matter of orthoepy, it is perhaps worthy of 
notice that throughout this play, and generally in English books 
printed before the middle of the 17th century, this word is spelled 
Romanies or Romanes. Romaine could hardly have been pro- 
nounced roman" (White). 

14. Consecrate. Cf. ii. I. 121 below. See also Sonn. 74. 6, 
C. of E. ii. 2. 134, etc. 

15. Continence. S. does not use the word. He has continencv 
in T. of S. iv. 1. 1S5 and M. for M. iii. 2. 1S5. In the present 
passage, " conscience " has been suggested as an emendation. 

18. Enter . . . aloft. That is, in the falcon}' at the back of the 
Elizabethan stage, raised some eight or nine feet above the flour, 
with curtains in front of it, which could be drawn when necessary. 
This balcony served as window, gallery, upper chamber, tower or 
battlements of a castle, or any other place — even heaven itself — 
supposed to be above the level of the stage proper. It will be 
remembered that there was no movable painted scenery in those 
days. 

19. Empery. Empire, imperial power ; as in 201 below. Cf. 
Hen. V. i. 2. 226 : " Ruling in large and ample empery," etc. 



Scene I] Notes 155 

23. Andronicus. Throughout the play the accent is on the an- 
tepenult, not on the penult, where it properly belongs. 

27. Accited. Summoned ; as in 2 Hen. IV. v. 2. 141 : — • 

" Our coronation done, we will accite, 
As I before remember'd, all our state." 

32. Chastised. Accented on the first syllable, as in Rich. III. iv. 
4. 331 : " And when this arm of mine has chastised," etc. 

42. Pretend. Claim ; as in 3 Hen. VI. iv. 7. 57 : " Why shall 
we light, if you pretend no title?" 

47. Affy. Confide. In T. of S. iv. 4. 49 and 2 Hen. VI. iv. I. 
80 (the only other instances in S.) it is = betroth. 

51. My thoughts. Rowe has " our thoughts." 

62. Open the gates, etc. Capell fills out the line by " brazen 
gates." 

64. Romans, make way. Pope, Capell, and some others begin 
a new scene here. 

65. Where. The quarto reading ; " whence " in the folios. 

70. Thy mourning -weeds .' Warburton changes thy to " my." 
Johnson says : " Thy is as well as my. We may suppose the 
Romans in a grateful ceremony, meeting the dead sons of Androni- 
cus with mournful habits." Weeds — garments, as in ii. I. 18, iii. 
I. 43, and v. 3. 196 below. 

71. Fraught. Freight. Cf. T.N. v. I. 64 : "the Phcenix and 
her fraught ; " Oth, iii. 3. 449 : "Swell, bosom, with thy fraught." 
We find fraughtage in the same sense in C. of E. iv. 1. 87 and T. 
and C. prol. 13. For the verb fraught, see Temp. i. 2. 13, Cymo. 
i. 1. 126, etc. S. does not use freight either as noun or as verb. 
Her is the reading of the 4th folio ; the other early eds. have 
"his." 

73. Anchorage. Here = anchor. The word occurs nowhere 
else in S. 1 

1 In these notes, as a matter of convenience, I often refer to this play 
as Shakespeare's, though I believe that but little of it is really his. 



i 5 6 



Notes [Act i 



74. Bound. Rowe omits the word. 

77. Thou great defender, etc. "Jupiter, to whom the Capitol 
was sacred" (Johnson). 

So. The number that King Priam had. Cf. T. and C. i. 2. 175. 

88. Styx? The infernal river is mentioned in T. and C. v. 4. 
20 (cf. iii. 2. 10), and alluded to in Rich. III. i. 4. 45 : — 

" Who pass'd, melhought, the melancholy flood, 
With that grim ferryman which poets write of, 
Unto the kingdom of perpetual night." 

92. Receptacle. Accented on the first syllable ; as in ii. 3. 235 
below. See also R. and J. iv. 3. 39 and Per. iv. 6. 1S6 (the only 
other instances of the word in S.). 

94. Of mine hast thou. The folio reading. The 1st quarto has 
" hast thou of mine." 

95. Ad manes fratrum. To the departed spirits of the brothers. 
The quartos and 1st and 2d folios have " manus " for manes. 

99. Earthy. The folios have " earthly. " 

IOI. Nor we disturbed, etc. It was supposed by the ancients that 
the ghosts of unburied people appeared to their friends and rela- 
tives, to solicit the rites of funeral. 

106. Passion. Passionate grief; as in iii. 2. 48 below. Cf. 
Z. Z. L, v. 2. 118 : "passion's solemn tears." See also Ham. ii. 
2. 541. For son the folios have " sonnes " or " sons." 

117. Wilt thou draw near, .etc. C{. J/, of V. iv. 1. 184 fol. 
Wheatley fsee p. 14 above) believes that 11 7-1 19 is Shakespeare's. 
Reed emotes Edw. III., 1596 : — 

" kings approach the nearest unto God 
By giving life and safety unto men." 

121. Patient. S. does not use the verb. Steevens quotes Arden 
of Eeversham, 1592 : "Patient yourself, we cannot help it now ; " 
Edw. I., 1599 : "Patient your highness, 't is but mother's love ; 
and Warner. Albion 's England, if>02 : "Her, weeping ripe, he 
laughing bids to patient her awhile." See also the old play of 



Scene ij Notes 157 

Ferrex and Porrex : "Patient your grace, perhaps he liveth yet," 
etc, 

122. Their. The folios have " the." 

127. Fire. A dissyllable ; as often. 

129. Clean. Quite, entirely. Cf. J. C. i. 3. 35 : " clean from the 
purpose," etc. 

131. Scythia. Cf. Lear, i. 1. 11S : "The barbarous Scythian," 
etc. 

132. Not. The folios have "me," and "lookes" or "looks" in 

134- 

138. His tent. The reading of all the early eds., changed to 
"her tent" by Theobald because, according to the old story, 
Hecuba decoyed Polymnestor into the tent where she and the 
other captive Trojan women were kept. Theobald supposed that 
the author of the play must have been indebted to the Hecuba of 
Euripides for the allusion ; but. as Steevens suggests, he may have 
taken it from " the old story-book of the Trojan 'War or the old 
translation of Ovid {Met. xiii.)." He adds that the writer "may 
have been misled by the passage in Ovid, ' vadit ad artificem] and 
therefore took it for granted that she found him in his tent." 

141. The bloody wrongs, Rowe changes the to "her," and 
Capell conjectures "these." For guit = requite, cf. Rich. II, v. 1. 
43, Ham. v. 2. 68, etc. 

147. Lamms. Commonly printed " 'larums," but not in the 
early eds. here or elsewhere. 

151. Repose you here. The early eds. add " in rest," which was 
probably an accidental insertion of the copyist or compositor. Pope 
was the first to strike it out. 

154. Grudges. The folio reading. The 1st quarto has " drugges" 
(which may be right), and the 2d "grudgges." 

159. Tributary tears. Repeated in iii. I. 270 below. Cf " tribu- 
tary drops'" in R. and J. iii. 2. 102. 

164. Fortunes. The folios have "fortune." 

165, Reserv'd. Changed by Hanmer to " preserv'd ; " but 



i 5 8 



Notes [Act I 



reserve is sometimes = preserve. Cf. Sonn. 32. 7, Ham. iii. 4. 75, 
etc. 

168. And fame's eternal date. Warburton changed And to 
" In," in order to " make sense of this absurd wish." Johnson says : 
" To outlive an eternal date is, though not philosophical, yet poeti- 
cal sense. lie wishes that her life may be longer than his, and her 
praise longer than fame." 

170. Triumpher. For the accent on the penult, cf. T. of A. 
v. 1. 199, the only instance of the word in S. See also triumphing 
in L. L. I., iv. 3. 35, triumpKdxn 1 lien. IV. v. 3. 15, etc. 

177. Solon's happiness. Alluding, as Malone notes, to his say- 
ing that no man can be pronounced happy before his death. Cf. 
Ovid : — 

" ultima semper 
Expectanda dies homini, dicique beatus 
Ante obitum nemo supremaque funera debet." 

182. Palliament. Robe (from Latin pallium) ; the only in- 
stance of the word in S. It may have been coined by the author, 
as Nares suggests. 

185. Candidatus. An affected allusion to the origin of the word 
candidate (Latin Candidas, white). S. does not use candidate. 

189. What. Why ; as often. Cf. C. of E. iii. 2. 15,/. C. ii. I. 
123, etc. 

190. Chosen. The sensitive ear of Rowe could not tolerate this, 
so he changed it to " chose." Proclamations is here metrically five 
syllables. This lengthening of a word is rare except at the end of 
a line. See p. 145 above. 

192. Abroad. The 3d and 4th folios have "abroach." 
201. Obtain and ask. Obtain by mere asking. A case of 
"hysteron-proteron," as it stands (cf. "dies and lives" in .-/. Y. I.. 
iii. 5. 7) ; but the extra foot in the line suggests possible corrup- 
tion. The proposed emendations, however, are not worth noting. 

214. Friends. The reading of 3d folio ; " friend " in the 
earlier eds. 



Scene I] Notes 159 

217. People's tribunes. The folios have " noble tribunes." 
219. Friendly. Often used adverbially. Cf. iv. 2. 40 below. 
221. Gratulate. Make glad. Cf. Rich. III. iv. 1. 10: "To 

gratulate the gentle princes there," etc. Rowe gives the speech to 

Marcus. 

223. Suit. The quartos and 3d folio have " sute," the 1st and 
2d folios " sure." 

224. Create. Elect ; not elsewhere used in this sense without 
the name of the office. Cf. 228 below. 

226. Titan's. The sun's. Cf. ii. 4. 31 below, and R. and J. ii. 
3. 4, Cytnb. iii. 4. 166, V. and A. 177, etc. 

230. Sort. Class, rank. Cf. A. Y. L. i. 1. 174, J. C. i. I. 62, 
etc. 

235. Election. A quadrisyllable. See on 190 above. 

237. Gentleness. Kindness. 

238. For an onset. For a beginning. Cf. T. G. of V. iii. 2. 94: 
" To give the onset to thy good advice." 

240. Empress. A trisyllable ; as in 320, ii. 1. 20, ii. 3. 66, iv. 2. 
143, etc., below, but not in the other plays. Cf. " emperesse " on 
p. 152 above. See also on 320 and 348 below. 

24.2. Pantheon. The reading of 4th folio ; the quartos and 1st 
folio have " Pathan," the 2d and 3d folios " Panthseon." In 333 
below, all the early eds. except 4th folio have " Panthean." Here 
the accent is properly on the first syllable, but in ^33 on the sec- 
ond. S. does not use the word. 

243. Motion. Proposal ; as in M. IV. i. I. 55, 231, etc. 

250. Imperious. The 2d quarto and folios have " imperiall." 
Cf. iv. 4. 81 and v. 1. 6 below. 

252. Thy feet. The folios have " my feet." 

258. Are you. The 1st folio misprints "are your," and "make 
your" in 269 below. 

264. Cheer. Face ; the original sense of the word. 

269. Can make, etc. Who can make, etc. 

271. Sith. Since. Cf. 323 below. 



160 Notes [Act i 

Steevens remarks here : " It was pity to part a couple who seem 
to have corresponded in disposition so exactly as Saturninus and 
Lavinia. Saturninus, who has just promised to espouse her, already 
wishes he were to choose anew; and she who was engaged to Bas- 
sianus (whom she afterwards marries) expresses no reluctance when 
her father gives her to Saturninus. Her subsequent raillery to 
Tamora [ii. 3. 66 fol.] is of so coarse a nature that if her tongue 
had been all she was condemned to lose, perhaps the author (who- 
ever he was) might have escaped censure on the score of poetic 
justice." She is not one of Shakespeare's women. 

280. Cuique. The reading of 2d folio. The 1st quarto has 
" cuiqum," and the 2d quarto and 1st folio have " cuiquam." 

Cuique is here a trisyllable. " Cui and huic were in the schools 
of Shakespeare's time pronounced as dissyllables, . . . and were 
supposed to be admissible in Latin verse composed after the 
Augustan models" (Walker). 

288. Safe. Pope reads " secure ; " but door may be a dissylla- 
ble, like f re in 127 above. 

291. Here the Cambridge ed. has the following stage-direction: 
"During the fray, Saturninus, Tamora, Demetrius, CJiiron, and 
Aaron go out, and re-enter above." 

301. By leisure. In no hurry. Elsewhere we have at leisure in 
this sense ; as in 7'. of S. iii. 2. 1 1 and K. John, v. 6. 27. 

304. Make a state. Make a state, or laughing-stock, of. Cf. 
3 Hen. VF. iii. 2. 260 : " Had he none else to make a stale but me ? " 
The quartos and 1st folio read " Was none in Rome to make a 
stale ; " the later folios, " Was there none els in Rome to make a 
stale of." Walker conjectures "What, was there none in Rome to 
make a stale," etc. 

309. Tieee. Used in eontempt ; as (with a sort of quibble) in 
'/'. and C. iv. 1. 62. Steevens quotes Browne, Brit. Pastorals: 
"her husband, weaken'd piece," etc. Elsewhere it is = master- 
piece ; as in I.ear, iv. 6. 137, Temp. i. 2. 56, etc. 

313. Ruffle. "To be noisy, disorderly, turbulent. A ruffler 



Scene I] Notes 1 6 1 

was a boisterous swaggerer" (Malone). Cf. Mirrour for Magis- 
trates : — 

" To Britaine over seas from Rome went I, 
To quaile the Piets, that ruffled in that ile." 

See also Lear, iii. 7. 41. 

316. Phoebe. The quartos and 1st folio have "Thebe." For 
Phcebe as applied to Diana, cf. L. L. L. iv. 2. 39 and M. A r . D. i. 1. 
209. 

320. Empress. See on 240 above. Here the 2d quarto prints 
" Emperesse," and the 3d and 4th folios " Emperess." 

325. Stand. Changed by Pope to "stands." 

233. Pantheon. See on 242 above. Walker conjectures " the 
Pantheon," which would be in keeping with the pronunciation in 
242. 

338. Bid. Invited. Cf. v. 2. 193 below. 

340. Challenged. Accused ; as in Macb. iii. 4. 42 : — 

" Who may I rather challenge for unkindness, 
Than pity for mischance." 

348. Brethren. A trisyllable. Cf. children in ii. 3. 1 15 below. 
351. Re-edified. Restored or rebuilt. Cf. Rich. III. iii. 1. 71 : — 

" He did, my gracious lord, begin that place, 
Which, since, succeeding ages have re-edified." 

360. Vouch it. The first three folios have " vouch'd it," and 
Rowe reads " vouch't." 

3C8. He is not with himself. " Much the same sort of phrase as 
be is beside himself'' (Boswell). The folios omit with. 

372. Speed. Thrive, gain their suit. Cf. ii. 1. 101 below. 

379. Upon advice. On reflection, or deliberation. Cf. M. of V. 

iv. 2. 6 : — 

" My lord Bassanio upon more advice 
Hath sent you here this ring," etc. 

380. Wise Laertes 1 son. Ulysses. Theobald and Steevens see 
here a plain allusion to the Ajax of Sophocles, of which no English 

TITUS ANDRONICUS — II 



1 62 Notes [Act i 

translation is known so early as the time of S. " In that piece, 
Agamemnon consents at last to allow Ajax the rites of sepulture, 
and Ulysses is the pleader whose arguments prevail in favour of his 
remains." The folios omit inise. 

381. Funerals. Obsequies. Cf. J. C. v. 3. 105: "His funerals 
shall not be in our camp." Elsewhere S. uses the singular ; as in 
Temp. ii. 2. 47, A'. John, v. 7. 98, etc. 

391. Dumps. Cf. A. and J. iv. 5. 129: "And doleful dumps the 
mind oppress," etc. For Jump as applied to mournful music, see 
T. G. of V, ii. 2. 85 : "a deploring dump," etc. 

396. Beholding. Beholden ; as regularly in S. 

39S. Yes, etc. Dyce, White, and Hudson give this line (which 
is not in the quartos) to Marcus. Malone was the first to suggest 
this change, which is plausible but not absolutely necessary. It is 
natural enough that Titus should answer his own question, which 
is merely a rhetorical interrogation. 

399. Play'd your prize. " A technical term in the ancient 
fencing-school" (Steevens). In M. of V. iii. 2. 142 ("contend- 
ing in a prize"), we find prize — contest, or competition. 

416. Opinion. Public opinion, or reputation ; as often. Cf. 
I lien. IV. iii. 2. 42, iv. 1. 77, v. 4. 48, etc. 

420. To be controlled. At being checked, or restrained. Cf. 
iii. I. 260 below. 

430. Indifferently. Impartially. Cf. the adjective in Rich. II. 
ii. 3. 116 and Hen. VIII. ii. 4. 17. 

433. Put it up. Put up with it. Cf. Oth. iv. 2. 1S1 : "nor am 
I yet persuaded to put up in peace what already I have foolishly 
suffered." 

434. Forfend. Forbid. Cf. Oth. v. 2. 32, 1S6, Cynib. v. 5. 2S7, 
etc. 

435. Author to dishonour. The cause of dishonouring. We find 
author applied even to things in this sense ; as in A. and C. ii. 
6. 138: " that which is the strength of their amity shall prove the 
immediate author of their variance," etc. 



Scene I] Notes 163 

436. Undertake. Answer, vouch. Cf. L. L. L. iv. 2. 163: "I 
will . . . undertake your ben venuto," etc. 

440. Suppose. For the noun, cf. T. of S. v. 1. 120 and T. and 
C. i. 3. 11. 

447. You. The 2d quarto and folios have " us." 

449. Entreats. The noun occurs again in 483 below. It is not 
found in S. except in the quarto of Rich. III. iii. 7. 225, where the 
folio has "entreaties. 1 ' 

453. Sued. A dissyllable. S. rarely lengthens such monosyl- 
lables. 

462. Incorporate. For the form, cf. V. and A. 540, J. C. i. 3. 
135, etc. 

476. Tendering. Having regard to, or care for. Cf. Rich. II. 
i. 1. 32: "Tendering the precious safety of my prince," etc. 

485. Stand up. Pope (followed by Dyce and others) omits these 
words, taking them to be a stage-direction, which is not improbable. 
In the early eds. they begin line 486. Capell was the first to make 
them a separate line. 

488. Part. Depart; as often. Cf. M. of V. ii. 7. 77: "Thus 
losers part," etc. 

491. love-day. Day of reconciliation. 

494. Bonjour. Good-morning (Fr. ). Cf. R. and J. ii. 4. 46. 

495. Gramercy. Great thanks (Fr. grand merci). Cf. iv. 2. 7 
below. See also M. of V. ii. 2. 128, Rich. III. iii. 2. 108, etc. 



ACT II 



Scene I. — 1. Olympus. Used particularly to express height, 
literally or figuratively. Cf. J. C. iii. 1. 74, iv. 3. 92, Cor. v. 3. 30, 
and Ham. v. 1. 277. 

3. Secure of. Safe from. On thunders crack, cf. Temp. i. 2. 
203 : <! the fire and cracks Of sulphurous roaring," etc. 

4. Above. The 1st folio misprints "about." 



164 



Notes [Act 11 



7. Glistering. S. does not use glisten. Cf. M. of V. ii. 7. 65, 
/K 7". iii. 2. 71, iv. 1. 14, etc. 

8. Highest-peering. Cf. still-peering in ^7. /"F. iii. 2. 113. The 
early eds. have " highest piering " (or " piring "). 

10. Wit. The word is often used for " mental faculty, intel- 
lectual power of any kind " (Schmidt). Warburton (followed by 
Ilanmer and others) would change it here to "will ; " but cf. 120 
below. See also iv. 4. 35. 

13. Mount. Hudson adopts Walker's conjecture of " soar." 

14. Pilch. A technical term for the height to which a falcon 
soars. For the literal use, cf. 1 Hen. VI. ii. 4. 1 1 : " Between 
two hawks, which flies the higher pitch," etc. ; and for the figura- 
tive, as here, Rich. II. i. 1. 109: " How high a pitch his resolution 
soars ! " 

16. Charming. " lie is adverting, not to the beauty of his eyes, 
but to the quality of fascination which the eye was once supposed 
to possess" (Staunton). Cf. Cymb. i. 3. 35: " charming words," 
etc. 

17. Prometheus. We have allusions to the story of Prometheus 
in I. I. I. iv. 3. 304, 351, and Oth. v. 2. 12. 

18. Weeds. Carments. Cf. i. 1. 70 above. For servile the 2d 
quarto and folios have "idle." 

20. Empress. The quartos spell it " emperesse." See on i. 1. 
240 and 320 above. 

22. Semiramis. The Assyrian queen was proverbial for her 
voluptuousness as well as her cruelty. Cf. ii. 3. 118 below. See 
also T. of S. ind. 2. 41. 

24. Shipwrack. The only spelling in the early eds. So wreck 
is always " wrack." 

26. Want. The reading of the 2(1 folio ; " wants " in the earlier 
eds. 

28. Affected. Loved; as often. Cf. T. G. of V. iii. 1. 82, 
Much Ado, i. 1. 298, etc. 

29. 7'liou dost overzveen. Thou art arrogant or presumptuous ; 



Scene I] Notes 165 

as in 2 Hen. I] 7 , iv. 1. 149: "Mowbray, you overween to take it 
so," etc. For the infinitive that follows, cf. i. 1. 420 above. 

30. Braves. Threats, bravado ; as in T. of S. iii. I. 15 : "I 
will not bear these braves of thine," etc. 

35. Approve. Prove ; as often. Cf. Macb. i. 6. 4, Oth. ii. 3. 
211, etc. 

37. Clubs, clubs ! "The usual outcry for assistance, when a riot 
in the street happened" (Steevens). Cf. Hen. VIII. v. 4. 53, etc. 

38. U?iadz'is'd. Inconsiderate, rash. Cf. well advised in iv. 2. 
IO below, and advise thee {— consider, bethink thyself) in iv. 2. 
129. 

39. Dancing-rapier. A sword worn only for ornament. Cf. 
A. IV. ii. 1. 32 and A. and C. iii. n. 36. Steevens quotes Greene, 
Quip for an Upstart Courtier : " one of them carrying his cutting- 
sword of choller, the other his dancing-rapier of delight." 

48. Wot. Know. Cf. iii. 1. 139 and v. 2. 87 below. The par- 
ticiple wotting occurs in W. T. iii. 2. 77. 

49. Million. A trisyllable. See on i. 1. 190 and 235 above. 
53. Put up. That is, "put up your swords" (A', and J. i. 1. 

72, etc.). 

Not I, etc. Warburton gave this speech to Chiron and the 
next to Demetrius, on the ground that it was the latter who had 
reproached the former. 

55. Those. The 2d quarto and folios have "these." 

62. Brabble. Brawl, quarrel. Cf. T. X. v. 1. 68: "in private 
brabble," etc. For petty, the first three folios have "pretty." 

64. Jet upon. To intrude upon, "treat with insolence" 
(Schmidt). The quartos have "iet," and the folios "set." Cf. 
Rich. III. ii. 4. 51. 

70. This discord's ground. There is a play upon the musical 
sense of ground (= " plain-song," or theme), for which see 
Rich. III. iii. 7. 49. 

76. Impatient. A quadrisyllable. See on 49 above. 

80. Achieve. Win ; often used of success in love. Cf. M. ofV. 



t66 Notes [Act n 

iii. 2. 210, Oth. ii. I. 61, etc. Propose. — look forward to, be ready 
to meet. 

82. She is a woman, etc. Cf. 1 Hen. VI. v. 3. 77 : — 

" She 's beautiful, and therefore to be woo'd ; 
She is a woman, therefore to be won ; " 

and Rich. III. i. 2. 229 : — 

" Was ever woman in this humour woo'd ? 
Was ever woman in this humour won ? " 

85. More water, etc. There is a Scotch proverb, " Mickle 
water goes by the miller when he sleeps ; " and another, " It is 
safe taking a shive of a cut loaf." Shive = slice. Steevens quotes 
Warner, Albion's England : "A sheeve of bread as brown as nut." 
Collier notes that both proverbs are found in The Cobbler of Can- 
terbury, 1590: "Thus the prior and the Smithes wife contented 
and enjoying their harts desire, the poore Smith loved her not a 
whit the worse, neither did he suspect anything, for the blind eates 
many a flie, and much water runnes by the mill that the miller wots 
nut on. . . . By this the Prior perceived, that the scull had cut 1 
shive on his loafe." 

89. Have worn. The later folios read " have yet worn." 
" Vulcanus' " and "old Vulcan's" have also been proposed to eke 
out the measure. Malone made worn a dissyllable. Vulcan's 
badge is of course the " horns " of the cuckold. 

97. Would you had hit it too ! For the play upon hit, cf. 
L. I. L. iv. I. 120, 123-126, T. and C. i. 2. 293, and I\. and J. ii. 

i- 33- 

100. Square. Quarrel; as in 124 below. Cf. M. A". D. ii. I. 
30: "they do square," etc. 

101. That both should speed. Omitted in the folios. 

103. For that you jar. For that which you are jarring about. 
105. Affect. Desire, aspire to. Cf. Cor. ii. 2. 24, iii. 3. 1, iv. 6. 
32, etc. 

no. 'Than. The early eds. have "this; " corrected by Rowe. 



Scene II] Notes 167 

112. Solemn. Formal, arranged, for the court. Cf. A. IV. ii. 
3. 187, etc. 

114. Spacious. A trisyllable. See on i. 1. 190 above. 

116. By kind. "By nature" (Johnson). See A. IV. i. 3. 67, 
A. Y. L. iii. 2. 109, etc. 

120. Sacred. It seems to me more in keeping with Aaron's 
character to consider this ironical than to explain it as a Latinism 
( = accursed), as Malone, Hudson, and some others do. 

121. Consecrate. Cf. i. I. 14 above. 

123. File our engines, etc. '"That is, remove all impediments 
from our designs by advice " (Steevens). The allusion is to the 
use of the file for smoothing the working parts of machinery. 

126. The house of Fame. Doubtless an allusion to Chaucer's 
poem with that title (Verity). 

127. And ears. The 2d quarto and folios have " of ears." 

133. Sit fas aid nefas. Be it right or wrong ; a common Latin 
phrase. The folios have " sy " or " si " for sit. 

134. These. The 2d quarto and folios have "their." 

135. Per Styga, etc. I am borne through the Styx, through 
the regions of the dead. Hudson says that " these scraps of Latin 
are taken, with slight changes, from some of Seneca's tragedies ; " 
apparently following Steevens, who says he "believes" so. No 
one, so far as I am aware, has been able to trace this bit to its 
source, though it appears to be a quotation. 

Scene II. — 1. Grey. Some critics (as Delius, Dyce, and 
Hudson) will have it that grey here, and in sundry other passages, 
means " blue ; " but I see no reason why the word should not have 
its ordinary meaning. The grey, as in J/. X. D. iii. 2. 419, _/. C. 
ii. 1. 103, and F. and J. iii. 5. 19, is the familiar poetic grey of the 
early morning before sunrise. Whether ascribed, as in F. and J. 
ii. 3. 1, to the eyes of the morn, or, as in Milton's Lycidas, to her 
sandals, does not matter. With regard to such passages as V. and 
A. 140 (" Mine eyes are grey and bright "), T. G. of V. iv. 4. 197 



i68 Notes [Act ii 

(" Her eyes are grey as glass "), T. N. i. 5. 266 (" two grey eyes "), 
etc., there may be room for question ; but even in these I think, 
with Schmidt, that the word " may well have the modern signifi- 
cation." Warburton explains bright and grey as " bright, and yet 
nut red, which was a sign of storms and rain, but grey, which fore- 
told fair weather ; " and B-oswell adds the proverbial saying: — 

" An evening red and a morning grey 
Are the signs of a fair coming day." 

3. Uncouple. Set loose the hounds. Cf. M. N. D. iv. I. 112 
and V. and A. 674. Bay is here = barking ; the only instance 
of the noun in this sense in S. 

9. / have been troubled, etc. This is like Shakespeare's fond- 
ness for presentiments ; and the passage may be his. 

17. Broad. Omitted in the folios. 

18. Horse. The contracted plural ; as in 23 below. See p. 
146 above. 

24. Bun. The quartos and 1st folio have " runnes." 

SCENE III. — 3. Inherit. Possess; as often. Cf. B. and J.'\. 
2. 30, Cymb. iii. 2. 63, etc. 

11. Make a glee fid boast. " Vies in glee " (Ilerford). 

13. Boiled. Cf. 2 Hen. VI. iii. 1. 228: "Or as the snake rolFd 
in a flowering bank." See also unroll in 35 below. 

15. Chequer d. Steevens quotes Milton, BAH. 96: "Dancing 
in the chequer'd shade." 

20. Yelping. The quartos have "yellowing," and Pope reads 
" yelling." 

22. The ivanderin^ prince. That is, /Eneas. See Virgil, 
ALneid, iv. 165 fol. 

23. Happy. Lucky, opportune. Cf. iv. 2. 32 below. See also 
B. and J. v. 3. 168: "O happy dagger ! " etc. 

31. Bominator. Ruler ; an astrological word, like predomi- 
nant (see IV. 7'. i. 2. 202, etc.), and predominance (see Macb. ii. 



Scene ill] Notes 169 

4. 8, etc.). Armadu uses it affectedly in I. I. L. i. 1. 222. On 
Saturn, cf. 2 Hen. IV. ii. 4. 2S6 : "Saturn and Venus this year in 
conjunction!" See also Cymb. ii. 5. 12. Collins quotes Greene, 
Planetomachia, 1 5 S 5 : "The star of Saturn is especially cooling." 
32. Deadly-standing. With deadly stare. The hyphen was in- 
serted by Theobald. Cf. deadly-handed 'in 2 Hen. VI. v. 2. 9. 

36. Execution ? Metrically six syllables. See on i. I. 190 above. 
Cf. 50 below. 

37. Venereal. The only instance of the word in the plays. 

39. Hammering. Cf. T. G. of V. i. 3. iS : " Whereon this month 
I have been hammering," etc. 

43. Philomel. Philomela, the daughter of Pan lion, ravished by 
Tereus, who afterwards cut out her tongue that she might not expose 
him. See the allusions to the story in ii. 4. 43, iv. 1. 47 fob, and 
v. 2. 195 below. Cf. also Cymb. ii. 2. 46 and A', of L. 11 28 fob 

47. Fatal-plotted. First hyphened by Theobald. 

49. Parcel. Part; as in Cor. iv. 5. 231 : "a parcel of their 
feast," etc. The word is sometimes = party (of persons). .See 
L. I. I. iv. 2. 160, ill. of V. i. 2. 119, etc. 

50. Dreads. Pope reads " dread." 

55. Who. Whom ; as often. Cf. M of V. ii. 6. 30: " For who 
love I so much? " 

56. Her. The 2d quarto and folios have " our." 

62. Presently. Instantly. Cf. iv. 2. 166, iv. 4. 45, v. 1. 146, and 
v. 3. 59 below. 

63. Act-con's. For other allusions to the Theban prince trans- 
formed to a stag by Diana, see .11. IV. ii. I. 122 and iii. 2. 44. 
Capell changes was to "were." 

64. Drive upon. Attack, or "rush pell-mell upon" (Staunton). 
The 2d quarto and the folios have " his" for thy. 

66. Empress. See on i. 1. 240 above. 

68. And to be doubted. And it is to be suspected; a common 
meaning of doubt. 

69. Are singled forth. Explained by Herford as = " have stolen 



170 Notes [Act 11 

out;" but I think it simply means ''are singled out," or are 
destined. 

72. Swarth. The folio reading; the quartos have " swartie " 
and " swarty," 

Cimmerian ("Cymerion" in the quartos and 1st folio) is not 
found elsewhere in S. 

75. Sequester 'd. Accented on the tirst syllable, like the noun 
sequester in Oth. iii. 4. 40. The verb in the only other instances 
in S. (.7. Y. L. ii. I. 53 and T. and C. iii. 3. 8) has the modern 
accent. 

77. Obscure. Accented on the first syllable, because followed by 
an accented syllable. Cf. extreme in v. 1. 113 below. 

78. Accompanied but with. S. always has with, not by, with 
the passive of accompany. Cf. Cor. iii. 3. 6, 2 lien. IV. iv. 4. 
52, Rich. III. iii. 5. 59, etc. 

83. Joy. Enjoy; but not a contraction of that word. Cf. Rich. 
II. v. 6. 26, Rich. III. ii. 4. 59, etc. 

85. Note. The early eds. have " notice ; " corrected by Pope. 

86. .Voted long. "He had yet been married but one night" 
( Johnson). 

87. Abus'd.' Deceived ; as often. Cf. Much Ado, v. 2. IOO : " the 
prince and Claudio mightily abused," etc. 

88. Have I. The reading of 2d folio ; ''I have" in the earlier 
eds. 

92. Tied. Enticed. It is commonly printed " 'tie'd ; " but it 
is not a contraction of entice. 

93. Barren detested. Rowe reads ''barren and detested," and 
Capell (followed by Hudson) "bare, detested." 

95. Overcome. Covered. 

Baleful mistletoe. On account of the old notion that its ber- 
ries were poisonous; or perhaps from its connection with the sav- 
age rites of Druidism (Verity). 

97. Fatal. Ill-omened, foreboding mischief or death. 

101. Urchins. Hedgehogs. Cf. Temp. i. 2. 326 and ii. 2. 5. 



Scene Hi] Notes 171 

103. As. That ; as often after such or so. 

104. Should straight fall mad, etc. Cf. R. and J. iv. 3. 45 
fol. 

115. Children is a trisyllable; as in C, of E. v. 1. 360. Cf. 
brethren in i. I. 34S above. 

118. Semiramis, See on ii. 1. 22 above. 

124. Stood upon. "Plumed herself, or presumed upon; as in 
Armin's Nest of Winnie:, 1608: 'This jest made them laugh more, 
and the rayther that shee stood upon her marriage, and disdained 
all the gallants there,' etc." (Staunton). 

126. And unth that painted hope, etc. The reading of the quartos 
and 1st folio, and probably corrupt ("obelized" in the Globe ed.). 
The 2d folio inserts " she " before braves. Warburton and Theo- 
bald change hope to " cope." Capcli reads " And with that paint 
now braves," and Steevens conjectures "And with that painted, 
braves." White conjectures " faint " for painted. Johnson ex- 
plains painted hope as " specious hope, or ground of confidence 
more plausible than solid." This is perhaps the best that can be 
done for the old text, and is at least as satisfactory as any of the 
proposed emendations. 

131. Ye desire. The quartos and 1st folio have "we de- 
sire." 

132. Outlive ye, both. The early eds. have "outlive us both," 
which Theobald (followed by most of the eds.) retains, with a 
comma after outlive ; but that pointing makes an awkward break 
in the verse. The text is the reading of Dyce. 

133. You. Omitted by Pope. 

136. Woman's. The quartos have " womans," the 1st folio 
" woman." 

143. Learn. Changed by Pope to "teach;" but learn was 
often used in that sense. Cf. Temp. i. 2. 365 : " For learning me 
your language," etc. 

144. Suck'dst. The early eds. have " suckst " or " suck'st." 
148. A bastard. " Lavinia says nothing about Chiron's father ; 



1 7 2 Notes [Act ii 

but his reply would justify the belief that Tamora had played false 
with a true Milesian. How was he to prove himself a bastard by 
being unlike his mother ?" (White). 

1 60. Obdurate. Accented on the second syllable, as regularly 
in S. Cf. M. of V. iv. 1. 8, etc. 

162. Even. A dissyllable. The 2d folio reads "am I now piti- 
less ; " but that throws the emphatic his into an unaccented place 
in the measure. 

172. Fond. Foolish ; the most common meaning in S. 

173. Present. Instant. Cf. presently in 62 above. 

191. Spleenful. " Hot, eager " (Schmidt) ; as in 2 lien. VI. m. 
2. 128: "Myself have calm'd their spleenful mutiny," etc. Cf. 
spleen in K. John, ii. 1. 68, 448, Rich. III. v. 3. 50, etc. For trull 
(= drab, harlot), cf. I Hen. VI. ii. 2. 28, Cymb. v. 5. 177, etc. 

199. Rude-growing. Hyphened by Pope. 

207. Give. The early eds. read " have ; " corrected by Steevens. 

211. Uncouth. Strange, perplexing. The word is accented on 
the first syllable here, as in R. of I. 1598 and A. Y. I. ii. 6. 6, the 
only other instances of it in S. See on 77 above. 

214. True-divining. The hyphen was inserted by Theobald. 

222. Embreived. Imbrued, soaked in blood. 

223. On a heap. In a heap. Cf. T. of A. iv. 3. 101 : " When I 
have laid proud Athens on a heap,"' etc. 

227. A precious ring, etc. "There is supposed to be a gem 
called a carbuncle, winch emits not reflected but native light" 
(Johnson). Steevens quotes the Gesta Romanorum : " He farther 
beheld and saw a carbuncle in the hall that lighted all the house ; " 
and Drayton, Muses' 1 Elysium: — 

"that admired, mighty stone, 
The carbuncle that 's named, 
Which from it such a flaming light 
And radiancy ejecteth, 
That in the very darkest night 
The eve to it directeth," 



Scene Hi] Notes 173 

The carbuncle is mentioned in C. of E. iii. 2. 138, Cor. i. 4. 55, 

Ham. ii. 2. 485, and Cymb. v. 5. 189. 

229. Earthy. The 2d quarto and the folios have "earthly." 
231. Pyramus. The lover of Thisbe. Cf. M. N. D. i. 2. 12, 24, 

etc. 

236. Cocytus. The only mention of the infernal river in S. The 
quartos and 1st folio have " Ocitus," and the 2d and 3d folios 
"Cocitus." 

242. Nor I. Pope reads " And I." The double negative is 
common in S. and his contemporaries. 

243. Loose. Loose my hold. Rowe reads "lose," and Capell 
conjectures "loose 't." 

255. Chase. Hunting-ground ; the only instance of this mean- 
ing in S. 

256. Hour. A dissyllable. See on i. 1. 127 and 288 above. For 
him the 1st quarto has "them," as both quartos do in the next 
line. 

25S. Out, alas! Cf. M. W. i. 4. 37 : " Out, alas ! here comes my 
master ; " Oth. v. 2. 119: " Out and alas ! " etc. 

263. The complot. The plot. Cf. v. 1. 65 and v. 2. 147 below. 
S. accents the word on either syllable, as suits the measure. 

For timeless = untimely, cf. R. and J. v. 3. 162, Rich. II. iv. 1. 5, 
etc. 

274. Decreed. Resolved, determined. Cf. Much Ado, i. 3. 35 : 
"I have decreed not to sing in my cage," etc. 

275. Purchase us. Win us as. Cf. R. of L. 963: "purchase 
thee a thousand friends ; " J. C. ii. 1. 145 : "purchase us a good 
opinion," etc. 

279. Should haze inurlher'd. Was to murder. The early eds. 
all have "murthered," as also in 300 below. 

2S5. Torturing. Spelled " tortering " in the quartos and earlier 
folios, as it was doubtless pronounced. 

291. Fault. The early eds. have " faultes " or " faults ; " cor- 
rected by Theobald. 



174 Notes [Act II 

305. Fear not. Fear not for. Cf. Ham. iv. 5. 122: "do not 
fear our person," etc. 

Scene IV. — 3. Bewray. Reveal, show ; as in v. I. 28 below. 

5. Scrowl. The quartos have " scrowle," and the folios " scowle" 
or "scowl." Scrowl is regarded by Schmidt as " an unintelligible 
reading ; " but it may possibly be equivalent to scroll, as some 
editors make it. Some make it = scrawl or change it to " scrawl." 

6. Sweet water. Perfumed water. Cf. R. and J. v. 3. 14. 
9. Case. The early eds. have " cause ; " corrected by Pope. 

12. Cousin. Here = niece. Cf. R.andJ. iii. 1. 143: "Tybalt, 
my cousin ! O my brother's child ! " It was used for almost any 
relative, male or female, except the very nearest. 

13. If I do dream, etc. " If this be a dream, I would give all 
my possessions to be delivered from it by waking " (Johnson). 

14. Some planet strike, etc. An astrological allusion. Cf. Ham. 
i. 1. 162: "then no planets strike," etc. 

17. Have lopp'd. The early eds. all have " Hath " for Have, and 
that reading might perhaps stand. Some regard it as an " old 3d 
person plural in -tk." 

21. Have. The early eds. have " halfe " or "half; " corrected 
by Theobald. 

24. Rosed. Cf. Hen. V. v. 2. 323 : " a maid yet rosed over with 
the virgin crimson of modesty." 

26. r fereus. Cf. R. of L. 1 1 34 and Cymb. ii. 2. 45. The story 
was familiar through Golding's translation of Ovid and Gas- 
coigne's Complaynt of Philomenc, 1576. 

27. Detect him. Expose him. Cf. 3 Hen. VI. ii. 2. 143: "To 
let thy tongue detect thy base-born heart," etc. For him the early 
eds. have " them ; " corrected by Rowe. 

30. Three. The early eds. have "theyr" or "their ; " corrected 
by Hanmer. 

31. Titan's face. See on i. I. 226 above. 

34. Heart. The reading of 3d folio ; " hart " in the earlier eds. 



Scena I] Notes 175 

Heart may be = what is in the heart, or mind. Cf. M. for M. i. 4. 
33: "Tongue far from heart;'' Much Ado, iii. 2. 14: "what his 
heart thinks, his tongue speaks," etc. 

38. Philomela, she'. See on ii. 3. 43 above. The 1st quarto has 
" Philomela, why she ; " and the Cambridge ed. reads " Philomel, 
why she." 

40. Mean. Often = means ; but S. uses the plural oftener. 

41. Cousin, hast thou met. The 2d quarto omits cousin; and 
the folio, to fill out the measure, reads " met withall." Such little 
points as this show that the folio text was printed from the 2d 
quarto. Cf. p. 10 above. 

46. LCiss them. Cf. Sotm. 128. 6. 

49. Which that sweet tongue hath made. Ilanmer (followed by 
Hudson) " pads out" the line thus: " Which that sweet tongue of 
thine hath often made." 

50. Fell. For the participle, cf. T. of A. iv. 3. 265 and Lear, 
iv. 6. 54. Hanmer "corrects" it to " fall'n." 

51. Cerberus. The triple-headed dog of the infernal regions, 
alluded to also in L. L. L. v. 2. 593, 2 lien. IV. ii. 4. 182, and 7'. 
and C. ii. 1. 37. The reference here is to his being lulled to sleep 
by the music of Orpheus, the Thracian poet. Cf. M. of V. v. 1. 80, 
lien. VIII. iii. 1. 3, etc. 

54. Hour's. A dissyllable. Cf. ii. 3. 256 above. 



ACT III 



Scene I. — 9. Are not. The quartos and 1st folio have "is 
not ; " corrected in 2d folio. 

10. Two and twenty. Lettsom figures out that this should be 
" one and twenty," which Hudson accordingly puts in the text. 

12. For these, these, tribunes. The quartos and 1st folio omit 
the second these, which the 2d folio supplied. 

13. Languor. A word not used by S. 



176 



Notes [Act in 



17. Urns. The early eds. have "mines" or "ruins ; " corrected 
by I lanmer. 

23. O gentle, Rowe omits O. The Variorum of 1S21 has 
" gentle-aged-men," and some one has suggested " aged gentle- 
men." 

36. And bootless unto them. The reading of the 1st quarto. 
The 2d quarto changes And to "All." The 1st folio (followed 
by the others) gives the passage thus : — 

" Ti. Why 't is no matter man, if they did heare 
They would not marks: me : oh if they did heare 
They would not pitty me. 
Therefore I tell my sorrowes booties to the stones." 

Capell reads: "All bootless unto them, they would not pity me." 
Dyce conjectures "And bootless unto them since I complain." 
The Cambridge ed. prints "And bootless unto them . . . ," and 
the Globe " obelizes " the line as hopelessly corrupt. 

40. For that. Because that. Cf. for in v. 1. 74 below. 
43. Weeds. Garments. Cf. i. I. 70 and ii. 1. iS above. 
45. Soft as Tvax. The folios have " as soft wax." 
59. Aged. The 2d quarto and folios have " noble." 
64. Ay me. Hudson and some others print "Ah me," which is 
found in the early eds. only in A', and J. v. 1. 10 (in Id. i. 1. 167, 
ii. 1. 10, ii. 2. 25, and iii. 2. 36, we find Ay me). 

66. Speak, my Lavinia. The reading of 2d folio ; the earlier 
eds. omit my. 

71. A'ilits. The form is often used in A. and C. ; as in i. 2. 
49, i. 3. 69, ii. 7. 23, etc. Elsewhere in that play, and in Cymb. 
iii. 4. 27, S. has Nile. 

72. /'// chop. Steevens conjectured " or chop," because Titus, 
after chopping off one hand, would not be able to chop off the 
other! Cf. 77, 78 just below. 

75. Prayer. A dissyllable, like hour in ii. 4. ^4 above. 
80. Is. Changed by Rowe and others to " are." 



Scene I] Notes 1 77 

82. Engine. Instrument ; as often. Cf. V. and A. 367 : 
"Once more the engine of her thoughts began," etc. 
86. Sweet varied. Walker would read " sweet-varied." 

90. Unrecuring. Incurable. Cf. unrecalling in R. of I. 993. 
For recure — cure, cf. Rich. III. iii. 7. 130, V. and A. 465, and 
So/in. 45. 9. 

91. Deer. For the play on dear, cf. V. and A. 231, ill. IV. v. 
5. 18, 123, T. of S. v. 2. 56, 1 Hen. IV. v. 4. 107, Macb. iv. 3. 206, 
etc. 

92. KiWd me dead. Cf. Ham. iii. 2. 194 and M. N. D. iii. 2. 
269. 

97. His. Its ; as often before its came into general use. 

101. Spurn. Thrust, hurt ; as in T. of A. i. 2. 146. 

105. lively. Living ; as in Sonn. 67. 10, etc. Here lively 
body is opposed to the lifeless picture. Staunton quotes Massinger, 
Fatal Dowry, ii. 1 : — 

" That his dear father might interment have, 
See, the young son enter'd a lively grave ! " 

112. Honey-dew. The hyphen is not in the early eds. S. does 
noc use the word, but cf. J. C. ii. I. 230: "the honey-heavy dew 
of slumber." 

115. Knows them. The 2d quarto and folios have " knows him," 

125. As. The early eds. all have "in ; " corrected by Collier. 

134. Misery. The folios have "miseries." 

139. Wot. See on ii. I. 86 above. 

140. Napkin. Handkerchief; the only meaning in S. 

146. With his. The reading of the 4th folio; "with her" in 
the earlier eds. 

149. limbo. "The limbus patrum, as it was called, is a place 
that the schoolmen supposed to be in the neighbourhood of hell, 
where the souls of the patriarchs were detained, and those good 
men who died before our Saviour's resurrection. Milton gives the 
name of Limbo to his Paradise of Fools " (Reed). See P. L. iii. 
TITUS ANDKONICUS — 12 



178 



Notes [Act in 



495. Cf. A. IV. v. 3. 261 : "and talked of Satan and of Limbo 
and of Furies and I know not what ; " Hen. VIII. v. 4. 67: "1 
have some of 'em in Limbo 1'atrum ; " and C. of E. iv. 2. 32 : " No, 
he 's in Tartar Limbo, worse than hell." The word is still used 
as a cant term for prison. 

160. Til send, etc. Capell reads " I '11 send the king my hand." 

170. Castle. Theobald reads "casque" and Hudson " casques " 
(the conjecture of Lettsom). Walker suggests " crests." Schmidt 
explains thus : " Lach hand of yours has been employed in defend- 
ing Rome and in assailing and destroying the strongholds of ene- 
mies.''' The term castle appears to have been sometimes applied to 
a kind of close helmet, and some see that sense here as well as in 
7'. ami C. v. 2. 1S7. Nares cites Holinshed : "Then suddenlie 
with a great noise of trumpets entered Sir Thomas Knevet in a 
castell of cole blacke." 

192. Hour. A dissyllable, as in ii. 3. 256 and ii. 4. 54 above. 
Cf. pozver in 209 below. 

210. Wilt. The quartos have " would." 

217. Is -not my sorrow, etc. Walker conjectures "Are not my 
sorrows," etc. 

225. Coil ? Ado, disturbance. Cf. Much Ado, iii. 3. 100, Temp. 
i. 2. 207, etc. 

226. Blow? The reading of 2d folio ; " flow " in earlier eds. 
231. For why, etc. I follow the pointing of the early eds. Some 

give " For why ? " but it is often = because. 

240. That woe, etc. So that woe, etc. 

245. Some deal. Somewhat ; formerly printed as one word. 
Cf. Phaer, Virgil, 1600 : " But for T'.neas love with me somedeale 
1 like she burne ; " Spenser, Shep. A'al. Dec. : " Somedele ybent 
to song and musicks mirth," etc. 

250. Breathe ! The reading of 4th folio ; the earlier eds. have 
" breath." 

252. Starved. Benumbed with cold ; as in 2 lien. VI. iii. 1. 
343 : " I fear me you but warm the starved snake." 



Scene I] Notes 179 

257. Dear. Often used of disagreeable affections ; but here 
Hanmer's " dire " is plausible. 

260. Thy griefs. The early eds. have " my griefs ; " corrected 
by Theobald. Control = restrain ; as in v. 1. 26 below. 

261. Rent. The reading of all the early eds., generally changed 
to " rend," of which it is an old form. Cf. M. N. D. iii. 2. 215, 
Rich. III. i. 2. 126 (folios), etc. 

262. Gna'ving. Capell has " Gnaw." 

269. Usurp upon. Cf. Ham. iii. 2. 271: "On wholesome life 
usurp immediately ; " and Per. iii. 2. 82 : " Death may usurp on 
nature many hours." 

282. Employ 'd in these things. The folio reading ; the quartos 
have " in these Armes." The Cambridge editors say : " Perhaps 
the original MS. had as follows : — 

" ' And thou, Lavinia, shalt be imploy'd, 

Bear thou my hand sweet wench betweene thy teeth.' 

The author or some other corrector, to soften what must have been 
ludicrous in representation, wrote ' Armes ' above ' teeth ' as a sub- 
stitute for the latter. The printer of the 1st quarto took 'Armes' 
to belong to the first line, and conjecturally filled up the lacuna 
with ' in these,' making also an accidental alteration in the posi- 
tion of ' thou.' Then a corrector of the 2d quarto, from which the 
1st folio was printed, made sense of the passage by substituting 
' things ' for ' Amies.' " Lettsom conjectures that the original read- 
ing was "Lavinia, thou shalt be employ'd in this," and that "arms 
and things were sophistications to produce something like sense." 
Even if the first line was originally as he suggests, the " armes " 
may have got into it by being written above teeth as an emendation. 
The carrying of the hand by the teeth could hardly have survived a 
representation of the play on the stage. It was not only ludicrous, 
but unnecessary, for Lavinia could easily have carried the hand 
between her arms. A good conjectural reading would therefore 
be: — 



1 80 Notes [Act in 

" Lavinia, thou shalt be cmploy'd in this ; 
Bear thou my hand, sweet wench, between thy arms." 

Capell changes teeth to " arms." "White adopts Dyce's conjecture, 
" employ'd in these aims." 

292. Leaves. The early eds. have " loves ; " corrected by Rowe. 

294. To fore. Before ; used by Armado in I. L. I. iii. 1. 83. 

300. Power. Force, army ; as very often, both in the singular 
and in the plural. Cf. iv. 4. 63 below. 

Scene II. — The whole of this scene is omitted in the quartos. 
Cf. p. 11 above. 

4. That sorrow-wr eathen knot. Illustrated and explained by 
Temp. i. 2. 224 : " His arms in this sad knot." 

6. Passionate. Express passionately, or feelingly. Cf. passion 
in i. 1. 106 above. Spenser uses the verb in F. Q. i. 12. 16 : — 
" Great pleasure, mixt with pittiful regard, 
That godly King and Queene did passionate." 

9. Who, when my heart, etc. This " relative with a supplement- 
ary pronoun " is common enough in Elizabethan writers. Rowe 
(followed by Hudson) " corrects " it here by reading " And, when," 
etc. 

12. Map of 7voe. Cf. Pi eh. II. v. I. 12 : "Thou map of 
honour," etc. 

15. Wound it 7vith sighing. Alluding to the old notion that 
every sigh took a drop of blood from the heart. Cf. M. iV. D. iii. 
2. 97, Much Ado, iii. 1. 78, Ham. iv. 7. 123, etc. 

27. Bid sEneas, etc. Cf. v. 3. 80 fol. below. 

29. 0, handle not, etc. For the quibble, cf. T. and C. i. 1. 55 : 
" Handiest in thy discourse, O, that her hand." 

31. Square. Shape ; as in A. W. ii. 1. 153 : " As 't is with us 
that square our guess by shows," etc. 

37. No other drink but tears. Malone quotes 3 Hen. VI. v. 4. 
75 : "Ye see, I drink the water of my eyes ; " and V. and A. 949 : 
" Dost thou drink tears, that thou provok'st such weeping ?" 



Scene ij Notes 181 

38. MesKd. Equivalent to "mash'd" (the brewer's term), 
which some editors substitute. 

44. Of these. From these ; a common use of the preposition. 

45. Still practice. " Constant or continual practice " (Johnson). 
Cf. Rich. III. iv. 4. 229 : " still use of grief makes wild grief tame." 

48. Passion. See on i. 1. 106 above. 

54. Killst my heart. Cf. Hen. V. ii. 1. 92 : "The king has 
killed his heart." See also Rich. II. v. 1. 100, I. I. I. v. 2. 149, 
etc. 

60. But how, etc. The folio prints " But ? " and the Cambridge 
ed. has " But ! " as if repeating the but of the preceding line. For 
father and mother? Capell reads "father, sir ?" and Ritson con- 
jectures " father, brother ? " Some such change is suggested by 
the following he and his, but, as Dyce remarks, " there is little 
sense throughout this scene." 

62. lamenting doings. That is, lamentations. Hanmer reads 
" laments and doings," and Theobald " lamenting dolings." " Dron- 
ings " has also been suggested for doings. 

71. Insult on. Exult or triumph over. Elsewhere we have 
insult over ; as in Sonn. 107. 12, A. Y. I. iii. 5. 36, etc. 

76. Yet, I think, we are not brought so low. That is, we are not 
yet brought so low. The transposing of " adverbs of limitation " 
(yet, only, etc.) is common in S. Pope reads " Yet still I think ; " 
Capell, " Why, yet, I think ; " and Steevens, " Yet I do think." 
White conjectures "But yet I think," or "Yet do I think." 

81. Come, take away. The 1st folio has " An. Come, take away ; " 
the 2d, "And : Come take away; " and the 3d and 4th, "And, 
Come take away," thus continuing the speech to Marcus. Rowe 
omitted " And." Capell was the first to restore the true reading. 



ACT IV 



Scene I. — 9. Fear her not. The folios have " Feare not," and 
Rowe " Fear thou not." 



1 82 Notes [Act IV 

10. See, Lucius, etc. The early eds. add this speech to the pre- 
ceding one. The correction was suggested by Walker. Capell 
(followed by many editors) gives only line 15 to Marcus. 

11. Somewhither. Found nowhere in S. The quartos and 1st 
folio have " Some whether ; " the 2d folio " Some whither." 

12. Cornelia. The mother of the Gracchi. 

14. Tully's Orator. Cicero's De Oratore. Rowe has "Ora- 
tory," and Pope " oratory." 

19. Griefs. The 1st quarto has " greeves ; " and Rowe reads 
" grief." 

20. Hecuba. She has been referred to, though not mentioned 
by name, in i. 1. 136 above. Cf. R. of L. 1147, 1485, Cor. i. 3. 43, 
Ham. ii. 2. 523, 584, Cymb. iv. 2. 313, and T. and C. often. 

21. For sorrow. The 2d quarto and the folios have " through 
sorrow." 

36. Reveal, etc. After this line the folios insert " What booke ?" 
as a separate line. White retains this, with the remark that 
u Lavinia is searching among the books ; and perhaps the line is 
mutilated." 

37. In sequence. One after the other, alternately. 
39. Fact. Deed ; or crime, as some make it. 

45. Soft! see how busily, etc. The early eds. have "Soft, so 
busily ; " corrected by Rowe. 

46. What would she find? The early eds. have "Ilelpe her, 
what would she tinde ? " but Dyce is probably right in taking 
" Ilelpe her " to be a stage-direction that accidentally got into the 
text. Capell prints it as a separate line. 

47. Philomel. See on ii. 3. 43 above. 

48. Treason. Treachery, perfidy ; as often. 

49. Annoy. For the noun, cf. V. and A. 497, 599, R. of L. 
1 109, 1370, Sonn. S. 4, etc. 

50. Quotes. Observes, examines. Cf. T. and C. iv. 5. 233 and 
Ham. ii. 1. 112. 

53. Vast. Sometimes used " of darkness and dark places not to 



Scene I] Notes 183 

be taken in at one view " (Schmidt). Cf. v. 2. 36 below. See also 
R. of L. 767, Oth. i. 3. 140, etc. 

70. When. Omitted in the quartos and 1st folio. 

78. Stiiprum. Rape (Latin). 

Si. Magne dominator poli, etc. Great ruler of the skies, dost 
thou so tardily hear and see crimes committed ? From Seneca's 
llippolytus, ii. 671 ; the correct reading being " Magne regnator 
deum," etc. The early eds. have " Magni ; " corrected by Theo- 
bald. 

86. Exclaims. P'or the noun, cf. Rick. II. i. 2. 2 : "your ex- 
claims," etc. 

89. Fere. Mate, husband. Cf. Per. prol. 21. S. does not use 
the word. 

91. Junius Brutus. Cf. R. of I. 1807 fol. 

92. By good advice. By well-considered means. 

97. Wind. Get wind of, scent. Cf. the noun in iv. 2. 133 be- 
low. See also A. W. iii. 6. 122 : "this same coxcomb, that we 
have i' the wind,'' etc. 

101. let it alone. The first quarto has "let alone." 

103. Gad. Point. The only other instance of the word in S. 
is in Lear, i. 2. 26 : " Upon the gad " (= suddenly). 

105. Sibyl's leaves. Steevens quotes Virgil, /Eneid, vi. 75 : — 
" Foliis tantum ne carmina manda, 
Xe turbata volent rapidis ludibria ventis." 
A better reference would have been to Aineid, iii. 444 fol. 

109. Bondmen. " As being prisoners of war, and therefore 0} 
the status of slaves" (Ilerford). 

124. Compassion. Pity ; the only instance of the verb in the 
plays. 

125. Ecstasy. Excitement. Cf. iv. 4. 21 below, where it is = 
madness, as often. 

129. Revenge, ye heavens. The early eds. have "Revenge the 
heavens." Hanmer reads " Revenge, O heavens," and Capell 
" Revenge thee, heaven." The text is the conjecture of Johnson. 



1 84 Notes [Act IV 

Scene II. — 7. Gramercy. See on i. 1. 495 above. 

8. Deciphered. Detected ; as in 1 Hen. VI. iv. 1. 184 : — 

" I fear we should have seen decipher'd there 
More rancorous spite," etc. 

The line is omitted in the folios. 

10. Well advised. In his right mind ; as opposed to mad. Cf. 
C. of E. ii. 2. 215 : " Sleeping or waking ? mad or well advis'd ? " 
See also Rich. III. i. 3. 318, iv. 4. 518, etc. 

16. Appointed. Equipped. Cf. 2 Hen. IV. i. 1. 190 : " With 
well-appointed powers," etc. 

20. Integer vitae, etc. He who is pure in life and free from guilt 
needs not the javelins of the Moor nor the bow (Horace, Carni. 
i. 22). 

24. Just. Just so ; as in M. for At. iii. I. 68, Much Ado, ii. 1. 
29, etc. Knight and Verplanck point " Ay, just a verse in Horace; " 
that is, merely a verse, etc. 

26. Here's no sound jest ! If the text be right, this must be taken 
ironically, as Malone and Staunton explain it. Theobald changes 
sound to " fond " ( = foolish), which is very plausible. 

27. Sends them. The 2d quarto and folios have " sends the." 

28. Beyond their feeling. " Without their perceiving it " (Iler- 
ford). 

31. Rest in her unrest. Cf. Rich. III. iv. 4. 29 : " Rest thy un- 
rest on England's lawful earth." 

42. At such a lay. Thus in my power ; a figure taken from the 
chase. Cf. Rich. II. ii. 3. 12S : "To rouse his wrongs, and chase 
them to the bay." 

43. A charitable wish, etc. Walker conjectures that this line 
belongs to Aaron, with the next. 

44. For to say. Cf. A. W. v. 3. 181 : " for to think; " and IV. T. 
i. 2. 427 : " for to obey." 

50. Belike. It is likely. Cf. M. N. D.\. 1. 130, lien. V. iii. 7. 
55, etc. It is followed by that in T. G. of V. ii. 4. 90. 



Scene II] Notes 1 85 

65. The (/evil's dam. Cf. K. John, ii. 1. 128, Oth. iv. 1. 153, 

etc. 

71. Zounds. The reading of all the quartos, for which the folios 
substitute " Out." Theobald reads " Out, out, you," and Capell 
" Out on you," etc. 

72. Blowse. " A ruddy, fat-faced wench" (Schmidt). The 
word is found nowhere in S. As generally defined it does not 
seem appropriate to a black baby, and White suggests that it may 
have become " a familiar term of jocose endearment for a child." 

85. Broach. Spit. Cf. lien. V. v. chor. 32 : " Bringing rebel- 
lion broached on his sword." 

89. Tapers of the sky. Cf. candles (= stars) in Sonn. 21. 12, 
M. of V. v. 1. 220, K. and J. iii. 5. 9, and Macb. ii. 1. 5. 

93. Enceladus. One of the Giants of ancient fable ; not men- 
tioned by S. For Typhon (or Typhoeus), another of them, see 
T. and C. i. 3. 160. 

95. Alcides. Hercules. See M. of V. ii. I. 35, iii. 2. 55, T. of 
S. i. 2. 260, K. John, ii. I. 144, and A. and C. iv. 12. 44. 

9S. White-lim\i. Whitewashed. The quartos have " white- 
limbde," and the folios " white-limb'd ; " corrected by Pope. 

101. Ocean. A trisyllable ; as in iv. 3. 7 below. Cf. also M. of 
V. i. I. 8 and 2 lien. IV. iii. 1. 50. 

104, Empress. A trisyllable ; as in 143 below. See on i. 1. 
240 above. 

no. Maugre. In spite of; found also in T. N. iii. 1. 163 and 
Lear, v. 3. 131. 

113. Escape. Sally, loose freak (Fr. escapade'). See Oth. i. 3. 
197 ; and cf. scape in IV. T. iii. 3. 73 : " Sure, some scape ; though 
I am not bookish, yet I can read waiting-gentlewoman in the 
scape." 

115. Ignomy. The quartos have " ignomie," the folios "igno- 
minie" or " ignominy." For ignomy, which was a contracted form 
of ignominy, see 1 Hen. IV. v. 4. 100 and 7'. and C. v. 10. 33. 

11S. Enacts. Actions; the only instance of the noun in S. 



1 86 Notes [Act iv 

For close — secret, cf. Macb. iii. 5.7: " close contriver " (plotter); 
Rich. III. i. 1. 158 : "secret close intent," etc. 

119. Leer. Complexion, face. Cf. A. Y.L.'w.l. 67: " a Rosa- 
lind of a better leer than you." Steevens quotes the old metrical 
romance of The Sowdon of Babyloyne, MS. : " When he saugh the 
ladies so whyte of lere." 

122. Sensibly. "As a sensible creature, endowed with the 
same feeling as you" (Schmidt). 

123. That self blood. That same blood. Cf. Rich. II. i. 2. 23 '■ 
"That metal, that self mould, that fashion'd thee," etc. 

129. Advise thee. Consider. Cf. T. JV. iv. 2. 102: "Advise 
you what you say," etc. 

136. When we join, etc. The 2d folio has "when we all join." 
Abbott makes lords a dissyllable. 

138. The chafed boar. Cf. T. of S. i. 2. 203 : " Rage like an 
angry boar chafed with sweat." 

139. As Aaron. The 1st and 2d folios misprint "at Aaron." 

143. Empress. Cf. 104 above. 

144. Two may keep counsel, etc. A proverb, quoted also in R. 
and J. ii. 4. 209 : " Two may keep counsel, putting one away." 

152. Not far, one Midi lives, etc. The early eds. have "Not far, 
one Muliteus, my countryman," Rowe inserted "lives" after 
" Muliteus ; " but Steevens was probably right in his conjecture 
that the proper name and the verb are blended in the un-Moorish 
" Muliteus." 

155. Pack. Plot, conspire in a fraud. Cf. T. of S. v. 1. 121 : 
" Here 's packing, with a witness, to deceive us all." 

162. Hark ye, lords. Theobald reads "my lords," and Capell 
" But hark ye, lords." 

163. Bestow her funeral. Give her burial. 

164. Gallant grooms. Stout fellows. Tor the use of grooms, 
cf. T. of S. iv. 1. 128, etc. 

165. No longer days. No more time. 

171. Exeunt Demetrius, etc. This is one of the many instances 



Scene III] Notes 1 87 

in which the actors had to attend to the removal of a body from 
the stage. In the time of S. an actor was obliged not only to 
play two or more parts in the same drama, but to perform such ser- 
vile offices as are now done by attendants of the stage. This ex- 
plains Falstaff's clumsy ami unseemly exploit of carrying off Harry 
Percy's body on his back. See also R. and J. iii. I. 201, Rich. II. 
v. 5. 11S, 119, 1 Hen. IV. v. 4. 160, Rich. III. i. 4. 287, 288, Ham. 
iii. 4. 212, Rear, iv. 6. 2S0-282, J. C. iii. 2. 261, etc. 

173. Dispose. Dispose of; as in Temp. i. 2. 225 : "The mari- 
ners say how thou hast dispos'd ; " C. of E. i. 2. 73 : "And tell me 
how thou hast dispos'd thy charge," etc. 

177. Feed. In the next line the early eds. have "feed" {ox feast, 
which is due to Ilanmer. The Globe ed. "obelizes " the second 
" feed," which was probably an accidental repetition of the com- 
positor. 

Scene III, — 2. Now let. The quartos and 1st folio omit now, 
which the 2d folio supplied. 

4. Terras Astraa reliquit. Astrcea (the goddess of justice) left 
the earth (Ovid Met. i. 150). 

5. Be you remember 'd. Cf. R. of R. 607 : — 

" O be remember'd no outrageous thing 
From vassal actors can be wip'd away." 

See also A. Y. R. iii. 5. 131, T. of S. iv. 3. 96, etc. 

7. Ocean. See on iv. 2. 101 above. Cf. region in 13 below. 

8. Happily. " Haply" (the folio reading). The words are 
often used interchangeably. For catch the 2d quarto and the folios 
have " finde " or " find." 

9. At land. Cf. Oth. ii. I. 5, A. and C. ii. 6. 25, iii. 7. 54, iv. 5. 
3, etc. 

26. Distract? Cf. C. of E. iv. 3. 42,_/. C. iv. 3. 155, etc. 

27. lord. The quartos and 1st folio have " lords ; " corrected 
in 2d folio. 



1 88 Notes [Act iv 

30. Careful. Dyce and Hudson adopt Walker's conjecture of 
" easeful." Schmidt suggests " cureful," which is less plausible. 
33. Wreak. Revenge. Cf. iv. 4. 11 below, and Cor. iv. 5. 91 : — 

" Then if thou hast 
A heart of wreak in thee," etc. 

See also the verb in 51 below, and in V. ami A. 1004. 

36. What. Ilanmer transfers the word to the end of the pre- 
ceding line. 

44. Acheron. The infernal river is here made a burning lake. 
Cf. M. N. D. iii. 2. 357, Macb. iii. 5. 15, etc. On the passage, cf. 
1 Hen. IV. i. 3. 203 : — 

" Or dive into the bottom of the deep, 
Where fathom-line could never touch the ground, 
And pluck up drowned honour by the locks." 

46. Cy clops'. Cf. Ham. ii. 2. 511 : " the Cyclops' hammers;" 
the only other mention of the one-eyed giants in S. 

49. Sith. Since. See on i. 1. 271 above. Dyce reads " sith 
there 's justice nor in earth nor hell." 

52. Gear. Affair, business. Cf. 2 Hen. VI. i. 4. 17 : "To this 
gear the sooner the better," etc. 

53. Ad Jovem. To Jupiter ; as Ad Apollinem, To Apollo ; and 
Ad Martem, To Mars. 

55. To Pallas. Some eds. put this in quotation marks ; also to 
Mercury, to Saturn, and to Saturnine. 

56. To Saturn, Cuius. The early eds. have "To Saturnine, to 
Caius ; " corrected by Capell. Rowe (2d ed.) reads "To Saturn 
and to Ccelus." 

57. You were as good. You might as well. Cf. T. and C. ii. 1. 
in : "a' were as good crack a fusty nut," etc. 

58. loose. Let ily, shoot. Cf. Hen. V. i. 2. 207 : " many 
arrows, loosed several ways," etc. 

63. Well said. Well done ; as often. 

64. Virgo. The zodiacal constellation, which, according to the 



Scene iv] Notes 189 

old myth, represents Astrcua, after she had left the earth. Cf. 4 
above. Capell reads " she '11 give it Pallas," and Johnson " give 
it to Pallas." 

65. Beyond the moon. Proverbial for anything far off or out of 
reach. Nares quotes Drayton, Eclogue j : — 

" Whither art thou rapt 
Beyond the moon, that strivest thus to attain ? " 

See also Heywood, Woman Killed with Kindness : — 

" But O ! I talk of things impossible 
And cast beyond the moon." 

76. His lordship. The 2d quarto and the folios have " your 
lordship." 

80. O, the gibbet-maker ! Stcevens supposed that the clown 
understood Jupiter as Jew reter ; but, as Staunton suggests, it is 
more likely that he took it to be gibbeter. 

92. Tribunal plebs. The clown's blunder for tribunus plebis 
or tribune of the people ; as emperiaVs for emperor 's. 

Take up. That is, make up, settle. Cf. T. N. hi. 4. 320 : " I 
have his horse to take up the quarrel," etc. 

113. Bravely. That is, with a grace, or in good style. Cf. 
Temp. iii. 3. 83 : — 

" Bravely the figure of this harpy hast thou 
Perform'd, my Ariel; " etc. 

Scene IV. — 3. Extent. Maintenance; the only instance of 
this sense in S. 

4. Equal. The quartos and 1st folio have " egall," a form found 
in the folio in M. o/V. iii. 4. 13 also. In Rich. III. iii. 7. 213 the 
same ed. has " egally." Ilerford paraphrases the passage thus : 
" for having inflicted justice impartially." 

5. You know, as know. The early eds. have simply " you know; " 
corrected in the Cambridge ed. Rowe reads " You know, as do," 
etc. Mightful is found nowhere else in S. 



190 Notes [Act iv 

11. Wreaks. Resentments, or " fits of rage " (Verity). See on 
iv. 3- 33 above. 

17. Libelling. Not found elsewhere in S. Libel (noun) occurs 
only in Kick. ILL i. I. 2,3- 

18. Injustice. The quartos have " unjustice ; " a form found 
nowhere else in the early eds. 

21. Ecstasies. Insanity. See on iv. 1. 125 above. 

24. Lf she sleep. The early eds. have " he " for she, and " as he " 
in the next line ; corrected by Rowe. 

25. As she. That she. Cf. ii. 3. 103 above. 

26. Proud'st. For contracted superlatives, of which we have 
several examples in the play, see p. 146 above. 

35. Iligh-xvitted. Cunning, artful. See on ii. 1. 10 above. 
Gloze = wheedle, cajole, use flattery or deceit. Cf. Rich. II. ii. 1. 
10 : " they whom youth and ease have taught to gloze," etc. 

37. Thy life-blood out. And drawn thy life-blood out. The 2d 
folio has " ont " for out, and the 3d " on't." White reads " My life- 
blood on't ! " Walker conjectures that a line has been lost, like 
" And through the bodies of thy children drawn." It is not improb- 
able that there is some corruption in the text. 

38. Anchor. The 2d quarto and the folios have "anchor's." 
40. Mistership. Johnson reads " mistress-ship ; " but mislership 

may be meant for a clownish blunder, like emperial. 

43. Godden. Good-evening; a corruption of good e'en, or good 
evening. In R. and J. i. 2. 58, God gp good-den is printed " Godgi- 
goden" in the quartos and first three folios, "God gi' Good-e'en " 
in the 4th folio. "This salutation was used by our ancestors as 
soon as noon was past, after which time good ?uorrozv or good day 
was esteemed improper" (Nares). In the present passage, the 1st 
quarto has " godden," the 2d quarto and the folios (except the 4th, 
which has "good e'en") have "good den." 

45. Presently. Immediately. See on ii. 3. 62 above. 

57. Shape. Form. Hanmer reads " share." 

59. Holfst. S. has holp for the past tense of help except in 



Scene IV] Notes 191 

Rich. III. v. 3. 167 and Oth. ii. I. 138, where we find helped ; and 
it is used ten times for the participle, while helped occurs only 
four times. 

61. Enter Emilius. The early eds. all have " Enter Nutitius 
Emillius" (or "Emilius"). 

63. Power. See on iii. i. 300 above. 

65. Conduct. Here accented on the second syllable. The later 
folios have "the conduct." 

67. In course of this revenge. In carrying out this plan of 
revenge. Rowe reads " his revenge." 

72. Ay, noxv begin. The quartos and 1st folio have " I now 
begins," or " I, now begins." Ay in the early eds. is always 
printed " I." 

74. Myself. Usually first person ; but cf. 2 Hen. VI. iii. 1. 217 : 
" Even so myself bewails good Gloster's case." See also Much 
Ado, v. 2. 89. 

76. Wrongfully. Adverbs are often used as adjectives in S. 
Cf. Temp. ii. 1. 32 : "That 's verily," etc. 

78. Your city. The folios have " our city." 

81-86. King, be thy thoughts . . . their melody. " No lines in 
the play have more of a Shaksperian ring" (Dowden). Swin- 
burne says substantially the same. For imperious in 81, see on 
i. 1. 250 above ; and cf. v. I. 6 below. 

S5. Wings. Knight reads "wing" for the sake of the rhyme, 
making 83-86 a quatrain. But the final -s was sometimes disre- 
garded in rhymes. I doubt, however, whether a rhyme was intended 
here. 

86. Stint. Check, stop. Cf. Per. iv. 4. 42 : " and swears she '11 
never stint," etc. 

91. Honey-stalks. " Clover-flowers, which contain a sweet juice. 
It is common for cattle to overcharge themselves with clover, and 
die " (Johnson). Mason remarks that, though this may be true of 
cattle, it is not of sheep. 

92. Whenas. When. Cf. C. of E. iv. 4. 140, Soun. 49. 3, etc. 



192 Notes [Act v 

93. Feed. The folios have " Footle " or " Food." 

96. Smooth. Flatter; as in Rich. III. i. 3. 48 : " Smile in men's 
faces, smooth, deceive, and cog." See also v. 2. 140 below. 

100. Before, be. The quartos have " before to be," and the folios 
" before to ; " corrected by Capell. 

103. Even at, etc. The line is omitted in the 2d quarto and the 
folios. 

105. Stand on hostage. Insist on a hostage. The quartos and 
first three folios have " in hostage ; " corrected in 4th folio. 

109. Temper. Mould, dispose. Cf. T. G. of V. iii. 2. 64: — 

" Where you may temper her by your persuasion 
To hate young Valentine and love my friend." 

113. Successantly. A word not found elsewhere; changed by 
Rowe to " successfully," and by Capell to " incessantly " ( = in- 
stantly). Schmidt is in doubt whether it means "successfully" or 
" following after another (namely, /Fmilius, who had gone before)." 
Perhaps, as Ilerford suggests, successantly is = " in succession;" 
that is, "to /Emilius, just despatched." 



ACT V 



Scene I. — 1. Approved. Tried, tested. Cf. Much Ado, ii. 1. 
394: " of approved valour," etc. 

3. Signify. The early eds. have " signifies ; " corrected by 
Rowe. 

6. Imperious. Cf. iv. 4. 81 above. 

7. Scath. Harm, injury. Cf. K.John, ii. I. 75, Rich. III. i. 3. 
317, etc. 

9. Slip. Scion. Cf. M. for M. iii. I. 142: — 

" For such a warped slip of wilderness 
Ne'er issued from his blood," etc. 

12. Ingrateful. Used by S. oftener than ungrateful, which, 



Scene I] Notes 193 

however, occurs twice in the present play (iv. I. Ill and iv. 3. 17 
above). 

13. Be bold. The 1st and 2d folios misprint " Behold." 

15. Master. The queen-bee ; anciently supposed to be mascu- 
line. Cf. the description of the "honey-bees," Hen. V.'\,2. 190 : 
" They have a king," etc. 

17. And as he saith, etc. The quartos and 1st folio omit the 
prefix to this speech. The 2d folio inserts " Omn." (' = Omnes). 

21. Monastery. The anachronism needs no comment. Cf. 76 
below. 

26. Controlled. See on iii. 1. 260 above. 

28. Bewray. See on ii. 4. 3 above. 

42. The pearl, etc. "An allusion to the old proverb, 'A 
blackman is a pearl in a fair woman's eye'" (Malone). Cf. T. 
G. of V. v. 2. 12: "Black men are pearls in beauteous ladies' 
eyes." 

44. Wall-eyed. Fierce-eyed. Cf. K. John, iv. 3. 49 : " wall- 
eyed wrath or staring rage." 

53. Get me a ladder. In the early eds. this is given to Aaron ; 
corrected by Pope (the conjecture of Theobald). Knight follows 
the old text, and says, " He may mean, Execute me, but save the 
child ! " 

58. Vengeance rot yon all ! The Cambridge ed. was the first to 
put these words in quotation-marks. 

65. Complots. Cf. ii. 3. 265 above. 

66. Piteonsly. "In a manner exciting pity" (Steevens). Cf. 
pitifully in M. IV. iv. 2. 212: "he beat him most pitifully." 
Heath conjectures "pitilessly," and Singer reads " piteousless." 

67. In my death. The 2d quarto and the folios have " by my 
death." 

74. For. Because ; as in 158 below. See on iii. 1. 40 above. 
Religious is a quadrisyllable. 

79. Bauble. The club of the domestic fool (see A, W, iv. 5. 32), 
with whom the idiot is here identified. 
TITUS ANDRONICUS — 17 



T94 Notes TAct v 

88. Luxurious. Lustful ; the only meaning in S. So luxury 
is always = lust. 

93. Cut her hands. The folios add " off." 

94. Detestable. Accented on the first syllable, as regularly in 
S. Cf. K. John, iii. 4. 29, R. and J. iv. 5. 56, v. 3. 45, etc. 

99. Codding. Lecherous : found nowhere else in S. Not con- 
nected with the provincial cod — pillow, as some of the commen- 
tators suppose, but probably, as the A J eiv E/ig. Diet, (which gives 
no other instance of the word) suggests, from cod (= scrotum). 

102. At head. "An allusion to bulldogs, whose generosity and 
courage are always shown by meeting the bull in front and seizing 
his nose " (Johnson). 

104. Train 'd. Lured, enticed. Cf. C. of E. iii. 2. 45, Z. L. L. 
i. 1. 71, etc. 

no. 1 ''/herein . . . in it? Cf. A. Y. L. ii. 7. 139: "Wherein 
we play in," etc. 

113. Extreme. Accented on the first syllable because followed 
by a noun so accented. See on obscure, ii. 3. 77 above. 

114. Pry'd me. The me is the expletive or "ethical da- 
tive." 

119. Swooned. The quartos and early folios have "sounded," 
which, like sivounded, is an old spelling of the word. 

122. Like a black dog, etc. The proverb, " to blush like a black 
dog," is found in Ray's Collection. Walker quotes Withal, Adagia, 
p. 557: " Faciem perfricuit. llee blusheth like a blacke dogge, 
lie hath a brazen face." 

132. Break their necks. Malone conjectures that we should 
add " and die." The Globe ed. " obelizes " the line. 

133. Set fire on. The only instance of the phrase in the plays. 
Set fire to is not found in S. 

136. Doors. The quartos and 1st folio have " doore ; " cor- 
rected in 2d folio, 

137. Sorrow . . . zvas. The quartos and 1st folio have " sor- 
rowes . . . was ; " corrected in the 2d folio. Most editors read 



Scene II] Notes 195 

"sorrows . . . were,'" with Malone ; but the correction in the 
text is simpler, and is favoured by 140 just below. 

145. Bring down the devil, "It appears from this that Aaron 
had actually mounted the ladder and spoke from it in the old 
English fashion of Tyburn executions'' (Yerplanck). 

146. Presently. Immediately. See on ii. 3. 62 above. 
158. For. Because. Cf. 74 above. 

Scene II. — 2. Encounter with. Meet. Cf. I Hen. VI. ii. 2. 
46: " When ladies crave to be encounter'd with," etc. 

9. Enter TlTUS, above. The stage direction in the early eds. is 
"They knocke and Titus opens his studie doore." From what fol- 
lows it is evident that he came out into the balcony at the back of 
the stage. See on i. 1. 18 above. I lis exit above at 69 is not 
indicated in the early eds. ; neither is his entrance below at 81, 
where he joins Tamora and her sons on the stage. 

11. Decrees. Resolutions; as in A', of L. 1030, etc. 

16. I am come. Dyce and Hudson read "I now am come." 

18. Action? A trisyllable. Cf. contemplation in 9 above; and 
see on i. 1. 190, etc. The quartos read ''give that accord," and 
Pope has " give it that accord." 

19. Odds. Advantage ; as often. Cf. A. Y. /.. i. 2. 169, etc. 
21-60. I am not mad . . . come with me. Coleridge believed 

that these lines are Shakespeare's. 

31. Thy mind. The 1st folio has " the mind," and "my foes" 
in the next line. 

32. Wreakfnl. Resenting. See on wreak in iv. 3. ^t, above. 
46. Surance. The reading of all the early eds. S. does not 

use the word. Ilanmer and others print " 'surance." 

49. Globe. The early eds. have "globes ; " corrected by 
Dyce. 

51. Hale. Haul, draw. Cf. Much Ado, ii. 3. 62, T. A\ iii. 2. 
64, etc. 

52. Murtherers. The early eds. have "murder ; " corrected by 



196 



Notes [Act V 



Capell. The quartos and 1st folio also have "cares" for caves; 
corrected in 2d folio. 

53. Loaden. Used by S. six times, laden only four times (cf. i. 
1. 36 above). 

56. Hyperion's. The sun's. Cf. lien. V. iv. 1. 292, T. and C. 
ii. 3. 207, Ham. I. 2. 140, iii. 4. 56, etc. Here the quartos have 
" Epeons," the 1st folio " Eptons," and the 2(1 folio " Iliperions." 

59. Rapine. Used several times here as = Rape. The word is 
found nowhere else in S. 

61. These. The quartos and 1st folio have "them," the later 
folios "they ; " corrected by Dyce. 

68. Embracement, Used by S. oftener than embrace. 

70. Closing with him. Agreeing with him, humouring him. 

77. Out of hand. Directly, at once ; as in 1 Hen. VI. iii. 2. 
102, 3 Hen. VI. iv. 7. 63, etc. 

80. Ply. The folios have " play." White thinks that the 
allusion may be musical, and " play " the right reading. Titus of 
course refers to his pretended insanity. 

87. Wot. See on ii. 1. 48 above. 

90. Convenient. Fit, proper ; as often. 

107. Up and down. Out and out, exactly. Cf. Much Ado, ii. 
1. 125, T. of S. iv. 3. 89, etc. 

132. Business. A trisyllable; as in J. C. iv. 1. 22, etc. 

140. Smooth. See on iv. 4. 96 above. 

Speak him fair. Conciliate or humour him. Cf. M. of V. iv. 1. 
275, M. A r . D. ii. i. 199, etc. 

147. Com plot. See on ii. 3. 265 above. 

162. And stop, tic. The line is omitted in the folios; restored 
to the text by Capell. 

189. Coffin. The crust of a pie. Cf. cus/ard-coffji in 7\ of S. 
iv. 3. 82. 

192. Increase. Produce; as in Sonn. 97. 6: "The teeming 
Autumn, big with rich increase," etc. On the passage, cf. Scott, 
lady of the lake, v. 241 : — 



Scene ill] Notes 197 

" It seem'd as if their mother Earth 
Had swallow 'd up her warlike birth." 

The 1st folio omits oivn. 

195. Philomel. See on ii. 3. 43 above. Progne, or Procne, was 
the sister of Philomela and wife of Tereus, whose son Itys she 
slaughtered and served up for his father to eat. 

200. Temper, Mix ; as in Cymb. v. 5. 250: "To temper poi- 
sons for her," ete. 

202. Officious. Ready to do service, active. Here the word is 
a quadrisyllable. See on spacious, ii. 1. 114 above. 

203. May. The folios have "might." 

204. The Centaurs'' feast. That is, the marriage feast of Peri- 
thous and Hippodamia, at which the famous "battle with the 
Centaurs" (see M. A T . D. v. 1. 44) took place. 

206. 'Gainst. The quartos have " against." 

Scene III. — 1. Uncle Marcus, etc. Walker conjectures 
" Since, uncle Marcus, 't is," etc. 

3. And ours with thine. "And our content runs parallel with 
thine, be the consequence of our coming to Rome what it may " 
(Malone). 

13. The venomous malice, etc. Cf. 1 /Zen. VI. iii. I. 26: 
"From envious malice of thy swelling heart." 

17. Moe. The quarto reading; "more" in the folios. The 
word is used only with a plural or collective noun. 

19. Break the park. Open the parley (Johnson). Collier 
thinks the meaning may be "break off your angry parley with the 
emperor; " and this perhaps suits the context better. I "or parlc, 
cf. Hen. V. iii. 3. 2, Ham. i. 1. 62, etc. 

23- Beholding. "Beholden" (Rowe's reading). See on i. 1. 
396 above. 

35. Resolve. Answer, tell. Cf. T. of S. iv. 2. 7 : " What, master, 
read you? First resolve me that," etc. 

2,8. Enforced. Forced, violated. Cf. M. N. D. iii. 1. 205 : 



i 9 8 



Notes [Act V 



" Lamenting some enforced chastity," etc. But, as Steevens 
notes, Virginia died unviolated. 

44. Li-rely. " Living, actual ; not merely one recorded in lit- 
erature " (Herford). 

48. Unkind ' ? Equivalent to unnatural. Cf. Lear, iii. 4. 73 : 
" his unkind daughters, - ' etc. 

50. Virginias. "There was a play upon the story of Virginius 
and his daughter long anterior to that of John Webster, so that 
audiences were well acquainted with the incidents before S. wrote" 
(Collier). 

52. To do, etc. The line is omitted in the folios. 

55. Thus? Omitted in the 2d quarto and 1st folio. 

73. Lest Rome, etc. The early eds, have " Let," etc. ; corrected 
by Capell. The quartos give the remainder of this speech to a 
" Roman Lord,''' and the folios to a " Goth." Malone substituted 
"Sen. " (= Senator). Capell continued the speech to Marcus, as 
in the text, and has been generally followed. The Cambridge edi- 
tors say: "The corruption was perhaps due to a copyist or printer, 
who, not seeing that Let was miswritten for L.est, yet felt that the 
words Let Lome, etc., were not suitable to Marcus, and gave them 
to a Roman lord at a guess. The editor of the 1st folio, or sonic 
corrector of the quarto from which he printed, thinking the words 
not suitable to a Roman, gave them to a Goth." 

74. Curtsy. The quartos and early folios have " cursie," as in 
sundry other passages. 

77. CJwps. Wrinkles or cracks. Cf. R. of L. 1452: "Her 
cheeks with chaps and wrinkles were disguis'd." 

80. Our ancestor. That is, /Eneas. See on ii. 3. 22 above. 

85. Sinon. The Creek who persuaded the Trojans to take the 
wooden horse {the fatal engine) into their city. Cf. R. of L. 1521, 
1529, 3 Hen. VL. iii. 2. 190, and Cymb. iii. 4. 61. 

88. Compact. Composed. Cf. V. and A. 149 : " Love is a 
spirit, all compact of lire," etc. 

91. My utterance. The 2d quarto and the folios have "my 



Scene ill] Notes 199 

very utterance." Even is of course a dissyllable ; as in ii. 3. 162 
above. 

94. A captain. Walker conjectures "our captain," which is 
plausible. 

96. Then. The folios have " this." 

100. Faults. Dyce reads "fault," which may be right. 

101. And basely cozened. That is, and he basely cozened. Cf. 
200 below. 

109. I am the turned forth. The reading of the 1st quarto. The 
2d quarto has " And I am the turned forth ; " the first three folios, 
'■'And I am turned forth ; " and the 4th folio, "And I am turn'd 
forth." 

119. This child! The 1st quarto has "the child." 

124. Dam ltd as he is. The early eds. have "And as he is; " 
emended by Theobald. Cf. Oth. i. 2. 63 : " Damn'd as thou art, 
thou hast enchanted her." See also 201 below. The Globe ed., 
retaining the old text, marks it as hopelessly corrupt. 

125. Cause. The reading of the 4th folio; "course" in all 
earlier eds. 

126. Patience. A trisyllable. Cf. impatient va. ii. I. 76 above. 
134. Closure. Close, end. Elsewhere (in V. and A. 782, Sonn. 

48. 11, and Rich. Iff. iii. 3. 11) it is = enclosure. 

140. Do cry. Voice is treated as a virtual plural. 

141. Lucius, all hail, etc. This line, as also 146 below, is made 
a part of Marcus's speech in all the early eds. ; corrected by Capell. 
Knight follows the old text, and remarks : "Marcus is the tribune 
of the people, and speaks authoritatively what ' the common voice ' 
has required." 

143. Hale. See on v. 2. 5 1 above. 

144. Slaughtering. Walker conjectures "direful-slaughtering." 
146. Rome ' s. The early eds. have " to Rome's ; " corrected by 

Rowe. 

148. Harms . . . wipe. Rowe has " harm . . . drive." The 
ellipsis of as after so is common. 



2 oo Notes [Act V 

149. Give me aim. " Give room and scope to my thoughts ; 
explained by the following stand all aloof'' (Schmidt). White 
conjectures "air" for aim. 

154. Blood-stain d. The reading of 3d folio ; " blood-slaine " or 
" bloud-slaine " in the earlier eds. 

156. Tear for tear. Abbott makes the first tear a dissyllable, as 
it probably is. 

169. Associate. Accompany, join ; as in R. and J. v. 2. 6 : "One 
of our order, to associate me." 

195. Tiger. Rowe changes the word to " tygress." 

196. Mourning. The 2d quarto and the folios have " mourne- 
full," " mournfull," or " mournful." For mournful in the next line, 
Staunton conjectures "solemn." 

199. Beastly. The folios have " beast-like." 

200. Shall have. Ilanmer reads "she shall have." For the 
ellipsis, cf. 101 above. 

202. By whom. The folios have " From whom." 
204. Ruinate. Cf. R. of L. 944 : " To ruinate proud buildings ; " 
Sonn. 10. 7: "Seeking that beauteous roof to ruinate," etc. 



APPENDIX 

The Time-Analysis of the Play 

This is summed up by Mr. P. A. Daniel (Trans, of A T ew Shaks. 
Soc. for 1877-1S79, p. 190) thus : — 

"The period included in this Play is four days represented on the 
stage ; with, possibly, two intervals. 
Day 1. Act I., Act II. sc. i. 1 
" 2. Act II. sc. ii.-iv., Act III. sc. i. 

Interval. 
" 3. Act III. sc. ii. 

Interval. 
" 4. Acts IV. and V. " 



List of Characters in the Play 

The numbers in parentheses indicate the lines the characters 
have in each scene. 

Saturninus: i. 1(105); ;i - 2 (S)> 3(35); iv - 4(55); v - 3(9)- 
Whole no. 209. 

Bassianus : i. 1(48); ii. 2(1), 3(14). Whole no. 63. 

Titus: i. 1(136); ii. 2(15), 3(9); iii. 1(190), 2(73); iv. 1(58), 
3(76); v. 2(132), 3(29). Whole no. 718. 

Marcus: i. 1(74); ii. 2(3), 4(47) ; iii. 1(41), 2(10); iv. 1(47), 
3(19); v. 2(1), 3(61). Whole no. 303. 

1 " Johnson is right in saying that ' this scene ought to continue the 
first Act.' The fact that in it Chiron and Demetrius are already quarrel- 
ling for the love of Lavinia is no sufficient reason for supposing any 
break in the course of the action : time, throughout the play, is almost 
annihilated. There is a sequence of events, but no probable time is 
allowed for between them." 



202 Appendix 

1 Aicius : i. 1(30); iii. 1(46); v. 1(41), 3(79). Whole no. 196. 

Quint us : i. 1(4); iii. 3(24). Whole no. 28. 

Martins: i. 1(2); ii. 3(29). Whole no. 31. 

Mutius : i. 1(4). Whole no. 4. 

Young Lucius: iii. 2^2); iv. 1(25), 2(13); v. 3(4). Whole 
no. 44. 

Publius: iv. 3(9); v. 2(6). Whole no. 15. 

JEmilius: iv. 4(8); v. 1(6), 3(7). Whole no. 21. 

Demetrius : i. 1(10); ii. 1(33), 2(2), 3(13), 4(6); iv. 2(28); 
v. 2(2). Whole no. 94. 

Chiron: i. 1(1); ii. 1(20), 3(10), 4(4); iv. 2(13); v. 2(4). 
Whole no. 52. 

Aaron: ii. 1(89), 3(41); iii- 1(19); iv. 2(110); v. i(S6), 
3(10). Whole no. 355. 

Captain: i. 1(6), Whole no. 6. 

Tribune: i. 1(3). Whole no. 3. 

Clown: iv. 3(1 7), 4(7). Whole no. 24. 

Messenger : iii. 1(7). Whole no. 7. 

15/ Goth : v. 1(11), 3(1). Whole no. 12. 

2d Goth: v. 1(21). Whole no. 21. 

3</ Gotli : v. 1(3). Whole no. 3. 

Tamora: i. 1(66); iii. 3(85); iv. 4(43); v. 2(61), 3(2). 
Whole no. 257. 

Lavinia : i. 1(10); iii. 2(2), 3(46). Whole no. 58. 

Nurse: iv. 2(19). Whole no. 19. 

"AH": i. 1(2); v. 3(2). Whole no. 4. 

Alarbus is on the stage in i. I, Cains in iv. 3, and Valentine in 
v. 2 ; but they do not speak. 

In the above enumeration, parts of lines are counted as whole 
lines, making the total in the play greater than it is. The actual 
number of lines in each scene (Globe edition numbering) is as fol- 
lows : i. 1(495); i! - l(l3S)i 2 ( 26 )> 3(3o6), 4(57); iii. 1(301), 

2(85); iv. 1(129), 2(lSo), 3(121), 4(H3); V- l( l6 5). 2(206), 

3(204). Yv hole number of lines in the play, 2523. 



INDEX OF WORDS AND PHRASES 
EXPLAINED 



above (in theatre), ig5 

abused (= deceived), 170 

accited, 155 

accompanied with, 170 

Acheron, 188 

achieve (= win), 165 

Actason, 169 

action (trisyllable), 195 

ad manes fratrum, 156 

advise thee, 16;,, 180 

;Eneas, 168, 100, 198 

affect (= desire), 166 

affected (= loved), 164 

any, 155 

use (= seniority), 154 

Aleides, 185 

aloft (in theatre), 154 

anchorage ( = anchor ), 

155 
Andronicus (accent), 155 
annoy (noun), 182 
appointed (= equipped), 

184 
approve (= prove), 165 
approved (= tested), 192 
as (= that ), 171, 190 
associate (= accompany), 

200 
Astraea, 1S7 
at head, 194 
at land, 187 
at such a bay, 184 
author to dishonour, 162 
ay me! 176 

baleful mistletoe, 170 

bastard, 171 

bauble, 193 

bay (= barking), 168 

be you remembered, 187 

beholding (= beholden), 

162, 197 
belike, 184 
bestow her funeral, 1S6 



bewray, 174, 193 
beyond the moon, 189 
beyond their feeling, 

184 
bid (= invited), 161 
blowse, 185 
bondmen, 1S3 
bonjour, 163 
brabble, 165 
bravely, 189 
braves ( = bravado), 165 
break the parle. 107 
brethren (trisyllable), 161 
broach ( =- s ; » i t ) , 185 
business (trisyllable) 196 
by good advice, 183 
by kind, 167 
by leisure, I<X5 

candidatus, 158 

carbuncle, 172 

castle (= helmet), 178 

Centaurs' feast, 197 

Cerberus, 175 

chafed boar. 186 

challenged (= accused), 
161 

chaps (= wrinkles), 198 

charming, 164 

chase (= hunting- 

ground), 173 

chastise (accent). 155 

cheer (= face) , 159 

chequered, 168 

children (trisyllable), 171 

Cimmerian, 170 

clean (adverb). 157 

close (= secret) , 186 

close with (— agree with), 
196 

closure (= close), 199 

clubs, clubs ! 105 

Cocytus, 173 

codding, 194 

20 3 



coffin (= pie-crust), 196 
coil (= ado), 178 
compact (= composed), 

198 
compassion (verb), 1S3 
complot (=plot), 173, 

193, 196 
conduct (accent), 191 
consecrate (participle), 

154. l6 7 

continence, 154 

control (= restrain), 162, 

179. 193 
convenient (=fit), 196 
Cornelia, 182 
cousin (= niece), 174 
crack (of thunder) , 163 
create (= elect), 150 
cuique (trisyllable), 160 
cirsie (= curtsy), 198 
Cyclops, 188 

dancing-rapier, 165 
date (= duration), 158 
deadly-standing, 169 

dear, 179 

deciphered ( = detected). 

184 
decreed (== resolved), 173 
decrees ( = resolutions), 

J 95 
deer (play upon), 177 
detect (= expose), 174 
detestable (accent), 194 
devil's dam, 185 
dispose (= dispose of), 

. l8 7 
distract (participle), 187 
dominator, 168, 183 
doubted ( = suspected), 

169 
drink tears, 180 
drive upon, 169 
I dumps, 162 



204 Index of Words and Phrases 



ecstasy (—excitement), 

183, 190 
egall (= equal) , 189 
election (quadrisyllable), 

'59 
embracement, 196 
embrewed, 172 
emperial's, 189 
empery, 154 
empress (trisyllable), 159, 

164, 185, 186 
enacts (noun) , 185 
Enceladus, 1S5 
encounter with, 193 
enforced (= forced;, 197 
engine (= instrument), 

177, 198 
entreats (noun), 163 
escape (= sally), 185 
even (dissyllable), 172, 

1 , 
exclaims (noun), 183 
execution (metre), 169 
extent (= maintenance), 

189 
extreme (accent), 194 

fact (= deed), 182 

fatal (= ill-omened) , 170 

fear (= fear for), 174 

fell (participle), 175 

fere, 1S3 

file our engines, etc., 167 

fire (dissyllable), 157 

fond (= foolish), 172 

for (= because), 176, 193, 

195 
for to, 184 
for why, 178 
forfend, 162 
fraught (noun), 155 
friendly (adverb), 159 
funeral (number), 162 

gad, 183 

gear (= business), 188 

gentleness (--= kindness), 

.'59 
gibbet-maker, 189 
give me aim, 200 
glistering, 164 
gloze, 190 
godden, 1 50 
gramercy, 163, 184 
gratulate, 139 
grey. ic 7 



ground (play upon), 165 

hale (= haul), 195, 199 
hammering. 169 
handle (play upon), 180 
happily (= haply), 187 
happy (= lucky), 168 
heart (= what is in the 

heart), 175 
Hecuba, 182 
highest-peering, 164 
high-witted, 190 
his (= its), 177 
hit (play upon) , 166 
help, 190 
honey-dew, 177 
honey-stalks, 191 
horse (plural), 168 
hour (dissyllable), 173, 

house of Fame, 167 
Hyperion, 196 

ignomy, 183 
, impatient (quadrisylla- 
ble) , 165 

imperious ( = imperial), 
159, 191, 192 

in course of, 191 

in sequence, 182 

incorporate (participle), 
163 

increase (= produce), 196 

indifferently, 162 
i ingrateful, 192 

inherit (= possess), 168 

insult on. 181 

integer vitse, etc., 184 

jet upon. i r< 5 
joy (= enjoy), 170 
Junius Brutus, 183 
just (= just so), 184 

kill me dead, 177 
killest my heart, 181 
kind (= nature), 167 

Laertes' son, 161 

lamenting doings, i3i 

languor, 175 
I larums, 1 = 7 

learn (= teach) , 171 
I leer (= complexion), 1S6 

libelling, 190 
1 like a black dog, 194 



Limbo, 177 

lively (= living), 177, 198 

loaden, 196 

loose (= let fly) , 188 

loose (= loose one's hold), 

173 
love-day, 163 
luxurious (= lustful), 194 

map of woe, 1S0 

master (of bees), 193 

maugre, 185 

me (expletive), 194 

mean (= means), 175 

meshed (= mashed;, 1S1 

mightful, 189 

million (trisyllable), 165 

mistership, 190 

moe, 197 

monastery, 193 

motion (= proposal), 159 

myself (person), 191 

napkin (= handkerchief), 

*77 

Xilus, 176 
no longer days, 186 
not with himself (= beside 
himself), 161 

obdurate (accent), 172 
obscure (accent), 170 
obtain and ask, 158 
ocean (trisyllable), 1S5, 

187 
odds, 195 

o'ercome (= covered), 170 
of (= from), 181 
officious (= active), 197 
Olympus. 163 
on a heap, 172 
onset (= beginning), 159 
opinion (= reputation ), 

162 
out, alas ! 173 
out of hand (= at once), 

196 
overween, 164 

pack (= plot), 186 
painted hope, 171 
palliament, 158 
Pantheon (accent), 159, 

161 
parcel (= parti, 169 
parle, 197 



Index of Words and Phrases 



205 



part (= depart), 163 
passion (= grief), 156, 

181 
passionate (verb), 180 
patience (trisyllable), 199 
patient (verb), 156 
per Styga, etc., 167 
Philomel, 169, 175, 182 
Phcebe (= Diana), 161 
piece (contemptuous), 

160 
pitch (in falconry), 164 
piteously, 193 
played your prize, 162 
power (= army), 180, 191 
power (dissyllable), 17S 
prayer (dissyllable), 176 
present (= instant), 172 
presently ( = instantly ) , 

169, 190, 195 
pretend (= claim), 155 
proclamations ( metre ), 

158 
Progne, 197 
Prometheus, 1C4 
propose (= look forward 

to), 166 
proud'st, ico 
purchase (=win), 173 
put it up (= put up with 

it) , 162 
put up, 165 
Pyramus, 173 

quit (= requite), 157 
quotes (= observes). 182 

rapine (= rape), 196 
receptacle (= accent 1 , 156 
recure (= cure) , 177 
re-edified (= rebuilt), 161 
region (trisyllable 1 , 1S7 
religious (quadrisyllable), 

193 
rent (= rend), 179 
reserve (= preserve) , 157 
resolve (= answer), 197 
res* in unrest. 184 
Romans (spelling), 154 
rosed, 174 

ruffle (=be noisy), 160 
ruinate, 200 

sacred, 167 
Saturn, 169 
scath, 192 
set owl, 174 



Scythia, 157 

secure of (= safe from), 

163 
self (adjective), 186 
Semiramis, 164, 171 
sensibly, 186 
sequestered (accent), 170 
set fire on, 194 
shape (= form), 190 
shipwrack, 164 
shive, 166 
Sibyl's leaves, 183 
singled forth, 169 
Sinon, 198 
sit fas aut nefas, 167 
sith, 159, i83 
slip (= scion), 192 
smooth ( = flatter ), 192, 

196 
solemn (= formal), 167 
Solon's happiness, 158 
some deal, 178 
somewhither, 182 
sorrow-wreathen knot, 180 
sort (= class) , 159 
spacious (trisyllable), 167 
speak him fair, 196 
speed (= thrive), 161 
spleenful, 172 
spurn (= thrust) , 177 
square (= quarrel), 166 
square (= shape), 180 
stale (noun) , 160 
stand on hostage, 192 
starved (with cold), 178 
still (= constant), 181 
stint (= check), 191 
stood upon, 171 
strike (of planet), 174 
stuprum, 1S3 
Styx, 156, 167 
successantly, 192 
successive title, 154 
sued (dissyllable), 163 
suppose (noun), 1C3 
surance, 195 
sweet water, 174 
swooned (spelling), 194 

take up (= make up) , 189 
tapers of the sky, 1S5 
tear (dissyllable?), 200 
temper (= mix) , 197 
temper (= mould), 102 
tendering (= caring for), 
163 



Tereus, 174 

that (= so that), 178 

Thracian poet, 175 

ticed, 170 

timeless, 173 

Titan (= sun), 159, 174 

tofore, 180 

torturing (spelling), 173 

trained (= lured), 194 

treason, 182 

tribunal plebs, 189 

triumpher (accent), 158 

trull, 172 

Tully's Orator, 182 

Typhon, 185 

unadvised, 165 

uncouple, 168 

uncouth(= strange), 172 
j undertake (= vouch), 163 
J unkind (= unnatural), 198 

unrecuring, 177 
1 up and down (= exactly), 

196 
; upon advice, 161 

urchins ( = hedgehogs) 
170 
I usurp upon, 179 

vast, 182 
venereal, 169 
Virginius, 198 
Virgo, 188 
Vulcan's badge, 166 

wall eyed, 193 

weeds (= garments), 155, 

164, 176 
I well advised, 165. 184 
well said (= well done), 

188 
what (= why), 158 
J whenas, 191 
j white-limed, 185 
who (omitted), 159 
who (= whom), 169 
wind (= get wind of), 183 
I wit, 164 
wot, 165, 177, 196 
wound with sighing, 180 
wreak (= revenge), 188, 

190 
wreakful, 195 
wrongfully ( adjective ), 

191 

yet (transposed), 181 
I you were as good, 188 



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